Cid's Little Girl
by Paillette
Summary: A love story amidst assassination, abduction, seduction, and war. COMPLETE
1. A Little Girl

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!

**A/N:** For the sake of the "little girl" argument and the overall theme of this story, **it is implied that Gippal is older than Rikku in this fic**, though it doesn't have any direct impact on the story. The story begins nearly three months after the end of "Perfect Ending," FFX-2. -**P**

- - -

Chapter 1

A Little Girl

- - -

"How _dare_ you?!" Brother screeched, reverting to his native language. "E'MM GEMM OUI!" Brother leapt up onto the refreshment table and jumped to tackle Gippal, who side stepped at the last moment. This left an exposed and stunned Rikku in Brother's war path.

"Wha..." Rikku managed to gasp right before being plowed over by Brother. "Eeek!" Brother and sister lay in a tangle of limbs and curses while Gippal doubled over laughing. Rikku pushed her brother off of her and stood up in a huff.

"Think that's funny, do you?" she spat at Gippal. Her face was now as red as Brother's, who was still recuperating on the ground. "Maybe I should throw someone off a table onto _you_ and see how you like it!"

"Now, Rikku..." Gippal began in a placating tone.

"Don't you 'now' me like that, Gippal! You're not my father!"

"Thank Ixion for that..." Gippal muttered, throwing a glance over his shoulder. He was undoubtedly looking for the real object of Rikku's parentage, Cid, who also happened to be the leader of the Al Bhed and Gippal's boss. He saw that Rikku's brusque father was currently across the outdoor dance floor, laughing bawdily with his niece and her new husband.

"Did you three forget that we're in the middle of a wedding reception and not a bar room brawl?" a cool voice interjected. Rikku and Gippal turned to see Paine approaching, looking awkwardly elegant in her bride's maid dress. "What's the problem this time?"

"Look at what he is doing!" Brother moaned, pointing to his previously white suit (now rose-stained) as if he were a wounded soldier. "He is knocking my drink over!"

Paine's spared glance held little pity for Brother, though she turned to glare at Gippal, who only straightened his own suit and sighed. "I can't help it if Brother can't keep his hands to himself," Gippal grinned again while Brother sputtered in protest on the ground. "Sorry man, but I just don't swing that way."

"Whhhy yoouuu!" Brother leapt up again, fists already flailing. Paine only rolled her eyes before grabbing the hyperactive Al Bhed by the ear and leading him away from the table. Gippal chuckled to himself as Brother whimpered, but Rikku wasn't about to let him go so easily. Suddenly aware of the danger he was in as she advanced upon him, Gippal held up his hands in defeat.

"Okay okay," he said tiredly, as if bored with his own apology. "I'm sorry I sacrificed you to your brother in an attempt to save my own skin. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?" He smiled charmingly at her while she only glared. "Well great then!" he stood up straight and clapped his hands together, smiling triumphantly as he ignored her obvious displeasure. "Now come here and sit down for a minute. It's a great view." He steered her toward the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean before he pushed her bottom to the ground- not too gently, either- and sat beside her.

"Owwwww..." Rikku moaned as she rubbed her backside. "You're such a bully, Gippal!"

"And you're such a baby!" he blithely replied.

They were quiet for a few moments, Rikku wincing and rubbing her bottom while Gippal stared out at the ocean. The wind was blowing over them and muffling the sound of the music behind them. Finally, Gippal spoke, still staring contemplatively at the water. "You know, all that water really gives me the creeps."

Rikku stopped in mid-rub and just stared at him. "Then why are you sitting here ogling at it?"

"Most of my work is based in the desert, you know? So I guess the sight of large bodies of water makes me a little nervous."

Rikku blinked. "But didn't you grow up in Luca?"

"Don't change the subject!" Gippal crossed his arms huffily but gave her a lop-sided grin. "How did you know that, anyway?"

Rikku shrugged. "My old man probably told me some time."

Gippal cast her a sly smile. "Tch, your dad talks about you all the time," he groaned. "And I only see that man about three, maybe four times out of the whole year, but you're still his favorite subject. I probably know more about 'Little Rikku' than any self-respecting Al Bhed man should have to."

"Heey, there you go, being mean again!" she whined, feigning a pout.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm only kidding, geeze..." Gippal stretched out and rolled onto one side, his arm propping his head up.

Rikku leaned back on her elbows and closed her eyes, smiling as the sun warmed her body. After a few moments she cracked an eye, catching Gippal looking at her. He responded with a wink before he stood up and stretched. Smiling down at her, he offered her a hand.

"So what do you think of the romantic view, Honey?" he asked in a sweet voice. "Maybe we could take a pleasure cruise down in the sand together..."

"Ugh! Gippal!" Rikku grimaced as she took his hand and he hoisted her to her feet. "You're such a perv!"

"Woah, what kind of naughty ideas are floating around in that head of yours, Kku-ri?" Gippal flashed her a devious smile. "I was only suggesting..."

"...Suggesting that you're a perv!" she finished with a smile. She couldn't help but smile at him, seeing that grin on his face. She turned on her heel and started to head back to the party, but Gippal suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. Rikku stopped and turned around to face him. He was looking at her intently, and didn't let go of her hand.

"Hey, Rikku..." he began with a little less confidence than usual. "I was, um, wondering if..." Rikku eyed him quizzically as he let his hand slip from hers and ran it through his hair. Maybe it was only the rosy light from the setting sun, but she could almost swear she saw a blush on Gippal's face. "Well, would you...?"

"What is it, Gippy?" she asked. "Cat got your tongue? Oh wait, I know!" She grinned now, as if catching on to a joke. "You were just gonna ask me out on a date, weren't you?" Gippal's head snapped up and he stared at her curiously. Rikku laughed and danced around behind him, laying her hands on his shoulders and peeking around from behind him.

"Ooh," she went on. "You were going to confess your undying love for me! Sorry," she sang in her best Leblanc impression. "But I don't date crusty old men like you!" Rikku watched as Gippal's stunned expression morphed between varying degrees of anger and indignation, and suddenly Rikku wasn't sure if they were joking anymore. After several more seconds that lasted an eternity, Gippal came back to life. He closed his eye and smiled, shaking his head. Relief washed over Rikku as she saw the Gippal she knew so well turn his back to her and laugh out loud.

"Ha ha ha!" he burst out loudly. "Date you, Rikku? Undying love, huh?" He turned around and eyed her with his patented appraising sneer that he usually reserved for Brother when the two of them were arguing.

"Sure, I'd love to..." he said in a soft voice as he walked up to her until he nearly stood over her. Rikku could feel his warm breath on her face as she looked up at him, but the face she was looking into now was more of a cruel smirk than the happy smile of before. Rikku attempted a smile as weak as her knees as he stared down at her. Was this part of the game still? Or was he really mad at her?

"But don't you think..." he breathed, "that you're a little... immature?"

Rikku's eyes widened as he laughed– a cold and cruel sound– and stepped around her.

"A little girl like you?" he continued ruthlessly as he walked a little ways behind her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but let's face it: I'm a little bit out of your league."

Rikku spun around to face him, her anger quickly replacing her shock. She was speechless as she watched him standing in that casual, cocky pose with one hand, turned away from her and facing the direction of the on-going party in the distance.

Finally, Rikku found her voice. "Ooooh! You!" Rikku's face turned red and she shook her fist at him. "You're the _least_ mature person I know! Why do you think I would be interested in _you_?!" Rikku continued on, so angry that she could hardly spit out the words. When he turned to face her, he looked straight at her with a piercing coldness foreign to the usual good-natured warmth she often found in his face. She began to feel a growing dread that she had definitely gone a little too far this time.

"...I think I'm going to go find myself in some more civilized, _gentler_ company," he said with a smirk. He gave a flourishing bow, and then with his voice brimming with arrogance he said, "Adieu, my dearest, but you must excuse me: there are plenty of real women around here with a decent rack to speak of that require my immediate, _mature_ attention."

Rikku gasped at this parting comment as he puckered his lips at her and made a kissing sound before he haughtily strode off, leaving her to deflate in his wake. Rikku was speechless for a few more moments as she watched him strut up to a trio of giggling Besaid women. She watched as he immediately cozied up to them, throwing his arm around a mature-looking brunette and started telling her a marvelously funny joke that had them all tittering together like a flock of demented flamingos.

Filled with revulsion, Rikku finally re-claimed control of her body and shook her head, trying to shake away the sight of his smirking face and his "mature" harem of brainless, bloated...

"Damn him!" She swore to herself. "How dare he even... the nerve! 'A decent rack!' I'll show him a ...decent rack..." She glanced down at her chest despite herself and felt how the plunging neckline of her bride's maid dress sagged a little from lack of support. Her face burned red again and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's not my fault Yuna had to pick this dress!" She argued angrily to herself. "It's not my fault the darn thing is such a dependent, saggy, stupid..."

She hear the brunette's high-pitched squawking laughter again as Gippal cracked another joke. Rikku's head snapped up in annoyance and she watched as he picked up a brunette curl and twisted it slowly around his finger, whispering something into her ear as she blushed and giggled like a little school girl.

Then the dark brown eyes flashed directly toward Rikku's wide, green-swirled Al Bhed eyes, and the woman tittered again, her hand over her mouth as she quickly looked away. Rikku felt the blood rise to her cheeks again as Gippal turned slightly and winked at her before he turned around and led the brunette to the punch table. Rikku felt hot tears begin to well up at the corners of her eyes, and she quickly turned away from the crowd to hide her embarrassment.

What just happened? she wondered to herself as she sank to the ground where she and Gippal last sat, over looking the ocean as friends not five minutes ago. She was just playing the game that they had always played with each other, poking fun like usual... And suddenly it had turned ugly. Had she really pressed a nerve that hard?

"Gippal..." Rikku whispered to herself. She tilted her head up at the sky, trying to keep the tears from leaking down her face. She sat like that for a while, focusing on clearing the lump in her throat, when she heard footsteps behind her. Quickly, she touched her face to make sure it was dry, and then sprang up and forced the happiest, craziest smile she could muster.

"Rikku, are you... alright?" Yuna asked, tentatively.

"Oh yeah, you betcha Yunie!" Rikku said, hoping she sounded like her usual bouncy self. Yuna looked at her cousin with suspicion written all over her face, and Rikku knew she had to react fast to avoid any more questions. She laced her arm in Yuna's and thought up a quick topic-change.

"I think I just had too much cake," she said in her best whine as she rubbed her tummy. "I about harfed it all up though, so I think I'm good to go!"

"O, okay, then..." Yuna said with an uncertain smile. "Tidus wants to get a sphere of all of us. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Rikku said, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "Let's go! I love getting my picture taken!"

Yuna led her over to where Ormi and Logos were directing people for the pictures. Rikku held on to Yuna's hand as Tidus held the other, and the sphere started filming the wedding party. There was a great clambering from the crowd for spheres of the High Summoner and her remaining guardians, so Yuna, Rikku, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri stood in front together, smiling at the crowd, or in Kimahri's case, baring fangs.

Rikku's attention started to wander, and her gaze fell on the edge of the crowd near the refreshment table, where she saw Gippal standing alone. He was staring at her coldly, and Rikku's smile wilted. Yuna looked over at her friend and frowned slightly at the sadness in Rikku's eyes. She followed her gaze to where Gippal stood, taking a swig of a cocktail. He finished his drink and then turned and strode off toward the harbor without a second glance.

- -

"E'MM GEMM OUI!"(_"I'll kill you!"_)

**A/N:** Don't worry, I won't be using much more Al Bhed language in-text. I think it can be assumed that when two Al Bhed are together, they will speak their native tongue though it will be written in plain English. **-P**


	2. A Little Confused, Part 1

* * *

Chapter 2

A Little Confused

Part 1

* * *

_Man, why did Rikku have to go off like that? _Gippal wondered to himself angrily. He kicked at an unsuspecting rock lying in the middle of the sandy road. Sure, he hadn't acted the most mature, either, but still...

The memory of earlier in the afternoon at Tidus and Yuna's wedding reception still burned in his mind as he walked down the road leading to Besaid harbor. Everything had been going fine-- he and Rikku had danced together, sat and talked like friends as usual, and then all of the sudden she just went all pre-pubescent on him, assuming dumb things like... like _that_...

Gippal cast a scowling glance at the ocean beyond the cliffs. The thought of boarding the ship in the harbor again did nothing to improve his sour mood.

What he was _going_ to ask her, he thought bitterly back to how she hadn't given him a chance to finish his sentence and then made an idiot out of him, was if she'd ask that loser brother of hers (Gippal shuddered at the thought of having to ask Brother for a favor himself) to give him a lift in his airship so that he wouldn't have to spend the whole return trip back to Djose hovering over a bucket. Flying through the air was no problem-- it was those damned rocking waves that made him sicker than a lupine.

_But nooo_, Gippal rolled his eye thinking about it. The debacle that had occurred just earlier that afternoon had spiraled far beyond that:

_"You were going to confess your undying love for me!"_

That was the real reason why he got so pissed off, he assured himself. He supposed she wasn't serious and was probably just playing around like usual... But it just bugged him that she had to act like a child _all_ the time...

Gippal scowled again and thrust his hands into his pockets. He had probably over-reacted a little bit, he admitted to himself. And he knew that it wasn't totally mature of him to say those things to her and then just storm off and then try to make her jealous by flirting with that floozy brunette.

Gippal paused for a moment and reconsidered his last thought. "Make her jealous?" he asked himself aloud. Gippal laughed to himself as he continued down the road.

"Whatever, man," he said to himself with a small smile. She's just Rikku. She wasn't like his girlfriend or anything. Gippal almost laughed again after that thought. He just couldn't picture Rikku turning into one of those clingy, doe-eyed girls that hung all over him. He suddenly remembered what she had said, about him "confessing his undying love," and about wanting to go on a date with her. She was probably just making fun of that same thought.

Gippal stopped near a waterfall and walked toward the edge of the roadside cliff. He looked out at the calm blue waves as they met the calm blue sky.

_This is nice_, Gippal thought. The wind carried the music from the party behind him, and he remembered Rikku's smiling face as they danced together.

"It was... nice, Rikku..." he murmured into the wind.

* * *

When Gippal finally arrived at the dock, the ship was just preparing for departure. He could hear the low rumbling of the engine that had replaced the old chocobo-power. He and a team of Al Bhed had helped the crew of the _S.S. Liki_ install it last summer.

_Just a sign of the times_, Gippal thought with a satisfied smile. Al Bhed working side by side with the once-fierce Yevonites, using once-forbidden machina for the betterment of Spira-kind.

Gippal boarded the ship and met up with some of his crew from Djose and they discussed navigation while the preparations to leave were being made complete. Gippal thought he heard some distant shouting on the docks, but he ignored it for the most part. It wasn't until he heard a shrill whistle that he turned his head and saw someone hailing him from the docks. It was Yuna.

"What the hell," Gippal murmured, confused. "Yuna?"

Gippal jumped over the side of the docked ship and jogged over to where Yuna stood waving at him from the pier, still in her wedding dress. She looked a little... angry.

"Yuna..." panted Gippal. "What's up? Marital squabble already?" He flashed her one of his most dashing smiles, but Yuna did not return it.

"Do you really have to leave so soon, without saying goodbye?" Yuna asked, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry, Yunie," Gippal said, a pang of embarrassment hitting him as he realized that he had been a little rude for just walking out on her wedding party.

"I just... forgot."

"Hmph," Yuna pretended to pout. "I'm sorry, Gippal, but that's not good enough. If you didn't like my party, I think I deserve a good explanation." She smiled at him as he floundered for an excuse. He didn't want to have to tell her the real reason that he had left was because he couldn't stand to watch Rikku smiling like she didn't care that he was mad at her. It sounded pathetic even in his head.

"I, uh... I had to catch the next ship to Kilika, so I could make it to Djose by tomorrow. Can't leave those mechanics by themselves for too long, you know? They get up to all kinds of crazy..."

"Uh huh," Yuna said disbelievingly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you're sure this has nothing to do with Rikku?"

Gippal just stared at her, his mouth gaping as Yuna hit the nail right on the head.

"What the... what are talking about, Yunie?" Gippal said laughing nervously, trying to regain control of the situation. "What's up with Rikku? She mad she didn't get another dance from yours truly?" Gippal laughed loudly. Yuna narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well," Gippal continued and patted Yuna on the back. "You can just tell her that there just isn't enough Gippal to go around, and that she can't have me_ all_ to herself..."

A bell started clanging as the ship crew began to pull up the anchors. Some Al Bhed shouted from the deck, and Gippal winked at Yuna before he started jogging back to the ship. He stopped at the ladder and turned back to her.

"Oh and Yuna!" he called back to her. "Have a happy honeymoon, and don't give your new man too much trouble!" He jumped on deck and waved at her as the ship pulled away from the dock. Yuna waved feebly, still a little stunned at his quick get-away. She was sure he had avoided her question...

"Yuna! Hey, Yuna!"

Yuna turned around to see Tidus smiling and waving as he jogged over to her. She smiled immediately, the sight of her husband banishing all cloudy doubts from her mind.

"So what's up?" he asked her before giving her a quick kiss. "I got a little worried when you just disappeared from the party. Are you okay?"

Tidus suddenly looked a little worried, but Yuna beamed at him.

"No, I was just saying goodbye to Gippal. He just left."

Tidus held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked out over the ocean, toward the fast-departing ship.

"Oh, that Al Bhed guy with the eye-patch? He left already?"

"Yeah..." Yuna said, her smile waning slightly. "I think there's something up with him and Rikku..."

"Whoa," Tidus interrupted. "He and Rikku are together? Oh yeah, I guess I knew that," he said, scratching the back of his head. "They were dancing together, right?"

"Oh no, I mean, yes! But..." Yuna shook her head and smiled at Tidus's confusion. "They're not together, like serious or anything, but they were dancing... I think they might have had... an argument or something... Rikku just seemed upset, and then he just left like that..."

Yuna trailed off. Tidus looked at the sadness creasing Yuna's face and he wrapped his new bride in his arms.

"Yuna..."

She looked up at him as he smiled softly down at her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll work it out alright. I don't know about that guy, but if something is bugging Rikku, she'll take care of it. You know how determined she is."

"You're... you're right, I know," Yuna said with a little smile. "But I just want... everyone to be so happy... as happy as we are today. It's such a wonderful feeling, being with the one you love. I only want Rikku to be just as happy, and to know this feeling..."

Tidus smiled and kissed her again. "I know she will, Yuna," he said softly. Yuna smiled happily up at him. He always had a way of making any situation brighter.

"Let's head back now, okay?" Tidus offered, giving her a squeeze. "Everyone's going to think we're having our first marital squabble after running off like that."

Yuna laughed, remembering the conclusion that Gippal had just jumped to. "Okay, let's go back to everyone." The couple walked arm-in-arm down the beach, back to their wedding reception.

* * *

Later that night, the bonfire was burning in the middle of the village, and people were still celebrating. Rikku sat by herself a little ways away from the party and stared into the crackling flames, but didn't really see them.

_Well _she's_ unusually subdued from her regular chatty, hyper-active self_, Paine noted from where she stood a little ways away and watched Rikku through narrowed eyes. Something was bugging Rikku, and that was annoying Paine.

She walked over to where Yuna sat with Tidus, chatting with Nooj and Leblanc by the fire. She knelt down and whispered something in Yuna's ear, and Yuna excused herself from the group to follow Paine a little ways away from the crowd.

"Something's bothering Rikku," Paine said flatly with a nod toward where the girl sat. Yuna nodded silently, looking at the ground.

"Well?" Paine asked, a little irritably. "What do you suppose we should do about it? Just looking at her like that is bringing me down." Paine tried to look annoyed to hide her concern.

"Yes, well..." Yuna began carefully, unsure of her next words. "Maybe we should... just let her be for awhile, you know, let her figure things out for herself..."

Paine turned her piercing glare on Yuna now, who shivered a little under her gaze.

"You think we should just leave her, then? That's not what she'd do for you, Yuna, if she saw you upset."

"I, I know," Yuna said, feeling guilty. "But I just don't know what to do for her. I think it's about Gippal, but..."

"What?" Paine asked, mild surprise leaking into her typical monotone voice. "Gippal? What did he do now?"

"That's what I don't know," Yuna sighed. "Do you think... something's going on between them?"

"I think..." Paine considered for a moment. "...If Rikku is getting involved with Gippal, she's in for a real ride."

The two women looked on as Rikku stood up and stretched before walking into one of the tents that had been provided for the guests staying for the night. Yuna nodded at Paine before she followed Rikku into the tent. She found the younger girl packing her clothes before Yuna spoke.

"So now you're leaving, too."

"Huh?" Rikku turned around quickly, surprised. "Oh, Yunie! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She turned back to her knapsack that she was stuffing her bride's maid gown into.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere until morning." Rikku said cheerfully. "It's just that I'm all partied-out, and I was thinking of turning in early..."

"It's Gippal, isn't it?"

"W, what?" Rikku squeaked. Yuna had caught her completely off-guard. "What are you... talking about, Yunie? Gippal?" She hastily went back to packing before Yuna could see her blush. "What about him?"

"You... you don't... care about him?"

"Ha! Don't be silly, Yunie!" Rikku laughed a little hysterically. "You know Gippal- he's just our 'Friendly Neighborhood Machine Faction Leader!' Why should I care anymore about him?"

"Oh, come on, Rikku." Yuna crossed her arms and looked at her cousin like a perturbed mother hen. "I know you two have been friends longer than when we met him as Gullwings. Something happened between you two today that upset you both, and now you're both crashing my party." She smiled warmly at Rikku as the younger girl slumped her shoulders in defeat, shaking her head.

"Gee, Yunie- either marriage has made you suddenly clairvoyant, or I'm really that transparent."

"Neither," Yuna said as she walked over Rikku and gave her a hug."Now, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on," Rikku said, sitting down on the matted floor. "He's just acting like jerky Gippal, as usual. I just let it get to me. It's nothing big."

"What did he say to you?" asked Yuna, sitting down beside her.

"Nothing... well," Rikku caught Yuna's "you're-avoiding-the-question-again" glare and started again. "I started teasing him about... something, and then he said something mean... and then he said I had small..."

Rikku's eyes darted down meaningfully, and Yuna looked at her, puzzled.

"You know, he said I have... small..." She waggled her eyebrows at the clueless Yuna.

"Oh! Rikku!" Yuna gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. "How dare he? Rikku, you should have... smacked him one!" Yuna punched her fist into her hand. "Oh, when I..."

Rikku giggled. "Easy, Yunie! Ferocity is not becoming of a new bride!"

"Oh, never mind that!" Yuna said, exasperated. "Rikku, I'm sorry. I just didn't expect him to be such a... guy!"

"Ha ha, you should know, Yuna! You're married to one!"

"Yes, but Tidus would never..."

"Yeah, but Gippal's not Tidus..." Rikku lay down on the floor with a sigh and folded her arms behind her head. "It's okay. I know he was just... mad, and that's... kinda my fault." She had been thinking about what she said to him and decided that she had been a little immature, but definitely not nearly as bad as he had been...

_Definitely_, she thought to herself with a grim nod. Yuna continued ranting without noticing.

"No, Rikku, you shouldn't let him get away with that. I mean, if he's going to be with my little cousin, he had better learn some manners!" Yuna smiled again as Rikku shot up from the floor.

"Hey!" Rikku said indignantly, pointing a finger at the giggling Yuna. "First of all, there is no 'being' with anyone here! I'm not interested in that... pig-headed... super-ego macho man, anyways! And he's not getting away with anything! I'm still mad at him, and..."

Yuna fell over sideways on the floor laughing, and Rikku dove down on top of her and started tickling her. When they were both out of breath, they lay side by side on the floor gasping for air.

"H, hey, no... fair," Yuna gasped, still smiling. "I was... already laughing... to begin with!"

"S... serves... you right..." Rikku panted, also smiling. "T...teasing me... like that! You're... no better... than Gippal!"

Yuna rolled over to one side and propped her head up on her arm.

"Yeah, but at least I don't make fun of the size of your boobs!"

"Ooh, you!" Rikku reached over and grabbed a pillow from her sleeping bag and swung it at Yuna.

Outside, Tidus, Paine, Leblanc, Nooj, and Baralai could hear the girls giggling and watched their shadows chase each other around the tent.

"Hey Tidus, I think you'd better go rescue your bride..." said Paine with a small smile.

"Oh, I don't know," said Nooj, also smiling. "I think if we evened the odds and gave Yuna a pillow, she'd hold her own, don't you think?"

"Hmph," tutted Leblanc with her nose in the air. "Well I think they need to act more lady-like, don't you think so, Noojie-woojie?"

"Yeah," quipped Baralai with a rare grin. "Don't you think so, Noojie-woojie?"

Nooj picked up his cane and swung it at Baralai, who rolled out of the way. Their laughter lasted long into the night.

* * *

The next day was a bright and sunny one on the Mi'ihen Highroad, and Gippal had plenty of time to enjoy it.

_Especially_, he thought bitterly from his position on the ground, _since this Yevon-damned contraption decided to fall apart right in the middle of the road._

Gippal was lying in the dirt underneath a busted hoover and trying to twist off the burnt metal hunk that had gotten lodged in the engine fan. No such luck. Gippal let out a sigh of frustration as he climbed out from underneath it and stood with his arms crossed over his chest, surveying the area. He was waiting for Blappa, the Al Bhed blitz player/hoover operator to get back from Luca with the spare parts for the blown engine. He wasn't really in much of a hurry to get back to Djose, but he wasn't such a lover of nature that he wanted to sit out in the middle of nowhere all day, watching the chocobo riders laugh at him as they passed him by.

He climbed up on the hoover and leaned against the cool metal. Eventually, he would get back to the temple and tackle two days worth of interviews with people wanting to make a buck excavating in the Sanubia Desert on Bikanel Island. His work had been on hold while he went to Besaid for Yuna's wedding, and even though he had delegated the interviewing process among several of organization's permanent engineers, his signature had to be on every one of those letters of recommendation. Gippal hated paper work.

If he had his way, Gippal would be covered in oil as he worked on some new piece of machinery. He was always more of a "hands-on" kind of guy, which also spoke for his reputation with the ladies.

Gippal grinned to himself at this thought. His position as "Leader" seemed to get him more attention from the girls (women just can't resist a man in a position of power), but it was still seriously boring work. He had been hand-picked by Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed himself, as the manager of one of the many Al Bhed enterprises around Spira. His crew at the previously abandoned Djose temple repaired and experimented with the machina exported from Bikanel, an operation which he also oversaw.

Gippal didn't consider himself to be a business man, and that was probably why so many people looked up to him. He made the money but didn't seem to show it as he lived in the worker's tents along side the other mechanics, and often used his own gil to fund research projects at the temple.

_Yep, a regular benefactor_, Gippal smiled to himself as he folded his arms behind his head and closed his eye.

Just then, he heard the buzzing sound of a distant hoover closing in. He stood up and squinted off into the distance, watching the rising dust cloud grow ever closer. Gippal jumped off the broken hoover and walked to greet the new arrival, which came to a buzzing halt on the road.

Blappa disembarked from the hoover as it purred in place and walked over to greet Gippal.

"Got the tools, G," he said in Al Bhed. "I even scored the other hoover to make it back double-time, and to make sure no one came speeding down here unaware of the break down and had a collision, a la Rin's."

"Great!" Gippal exclaimed with a clap of his hands. "Then let's get started on this thing! We've got a traffic jam here, and for once it isn't chocobo carts."

The two men got to work immediately. It was really a one-man job, so Blappa, as he worked with hoovers everyday, got under the engine and did the pounding while Gippal handed over the tools and lent a hand every once in a while.

_Just a day's work_, Gippal thought with a sigh. The last big mechanical project he actually got down and dirty with was probably Vegnagun, and even if that was an over-statement, he still missed the work.

"Hey, did you hear about the latest attacks on this highroad?" Blappa asked conversationally from below.

"You mean that one with the Hypello and that little duck-man?" Gippal asked, uninterestedly. It was probably just another mugging story. Violence along the highroads was more and more common these days. It seemed that since people were no longer frightened of dying by Sin, the lower dredges of Spira's society had to find some other way to entertain themselves.

"No, I mean those two girls who were abducted," Blappa said a little more quietly. "They found their bodies yesterday."

Gippal raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Fiends?"

"That's what they're trying to say in Luca," Blappa said, bitterness creeping into his Al Bhed accent. "But fiends aren't sexual predators." He banged something into place for a few moments, and Gippal narrowed his eye.

"They were Al Bhed, you know, so of course no one wants to admit that it was a racial attack, like with that group of Guado on the Moonflow. Killed the husband and maimed the wife and kid. Fucking sick." Blappa spat off to the side and groped for a tool next to him.

Gippal was more angry than surprised. Everyone knew about Spira's dark side, but no one ever talked about it, much less did anything to stop it. It was just an act of nature that Al Bhed men were thrown out of public buildings, Guado women were raped, and Ronso children just disappeared in the night.

"Hey, hand me that flat-head," Blappa said with his palm outstretched.

Gippal snapped out of his reverie and handed the screwdriver to him. He supposed he should be used to the sugar-coating of Spira's racial discrimination that had been going on even longer than the first Calm, but it still left him with a bitter taste in the back of his throat. Sure, they were making advancements: with Yevon more or less out of the picture, Al Bhed were slowly being accepted into society; the Guado may have taken a blow due to old Seymour's reputation, but they were coming back as respectable denizen's of Spira; and Hypello were being seen everywhere, thanks to that new advertising agency...

But then this sort of shit happened and he realized that all of the "progression" image was just on the surface, and that Spira was darker than ever.

"Hold this end up for a second..."

Gippal held the edge of the heavy metal plating while Blappa fit the final repairs.

"There we go!" Blappa said triumphantly. "She's all yours for Djose, G! I've got to take the other hoover back to Luca, so you've got to make the trip on your own... Hope you don't get too lonely!" Blappa added with a wink.

Before Gippal could reply, both men turned around as they heard the sound of a swiftly approaching hoover, coming from the direction of the Djose Highroad.

"What the hell?" Blappa muttered, still staring at the approaching hoover. "I sent a chocobo messenger ahead to close down the road to hoovers for the day. They know there isn't room to pass!"

The hoover sped toward them where they stood in the middle of the road. It didn't show signs of stopping.

"Yo, G..."

"What the heck are they thinking?" Gippal growled. "Hey! Slow down!" He waved his arms, trying to signal to the pilot of the other hoover.

"Gippal!" Blappa yelled, suddenly panicked. " Get the hell out of the way! It's going to crash!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	3. A Little Confused, Part 2

Chapter 3  
A Little Confused  
Part 2

* * *

"Whew!" Rikku exclaimed as she flopped on the bed in her cabin. It had been over an hour since she had said goodbye to Yuna and Tidus on the docks of Besaid, but she had been standing with the rest of the crew on board her father's submarine while they were lectured for forty-five minutes because someone had left the deck hatch open over-night and salt water had crusted all over the interior. 

"'This sub is not a toy!'" she said aloud in her best "Cid-nagging" impression. "'One of a kind! Never to be reproduced! 1,000 years of neglect have treated her better than the hands of you sea-scurvs!' Blah blah blah, old man..."

Rikku rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head. It wasn't like _she_ was the one who had left the hatch open, but Cid always made a point of making her one of the team. "The crew is your family, and your family is the crew," was his motto for re-uniting the Al Bhed. It had worked 18 years ago, when he pulled his people together and made a Home on Bikanel Island for all the Al Bhed who had lost their homes to Sin.

Now, with the loss of Home two years ago, they all had to take care of each other again. Rikku had grown up as a "member of the team" and didn't mind having to take Cid's flak with the rest of them- they were all like her brothers and sisters, all being scolded for having a pillow fight... or something.

"But does he have to be such a gripe?" Rikku moaned from underneath her pillow.

At that moment, there was a knocking on her door. Rikku moaned even louder, and rolled off the edge of her bed. Before she could crawl to the door to open it, it flew open, revealing a

still-scowling Cid standing over her. Rikku smiled wanly up at her father, hoping to escape yet another scolding from him.

"Rikku!"

No such luck.

"What are you doing, laying on the floor like that? I didn't raise my daughter to be some bum on the floor!"

"Aw, Pops, give it a rest," Rikku sighed as she pulled herself off the ground and flopped back onto her bed. "Are you here to yell some more about that silly hatch-business again, 'cuz I'm kinda tired after hearing it the first 45 times..." Rikku smiled and looked up at her father where he stood in the door frame, arms crossed over his chest and thunderclouds brewing on his face.

"As a matter of fact, Missy, I'm here to ask you just what you think you're doin' on my ship?"

Rikku's eyes widened at the totally unexpected accusation.

"What?"

"You think that you can just waltz on board and expect to just let us drag you along after us all over creation?" Cid spoke like an overseer lecturing his slack-off employees. "We've got real work to do, and you're plannin' on just layin' down here, sulking in your bedroom..."

"That's not true!" Rikku jumped up suddenly and glared at her father. "I do _tons_ of work around here! How can you talk like I'm not 'part of the crew?'" Rikku ranted, not noticing the smile spreading over Cid's face.

"Who do you think it was that fixed your darn propulsion system on the way down to Besaid, huh?" She continued. "I'm just as important and useful on this ship as you are, old man!"

She stood with fists balled in front of him, anger flushing her cheeks. Cid suddenly burst out laughing, and Rikku's anger quickly transformed into utter confusion at the man leaning against the wall because he was laughing so hard.

"What the heck is the matter with you, huh?" Rikku asked warily as Cid tried to catch his breath.

"Ha ha! Rikku! Just like...your mother!" Cid said between gasps of air as he clutched his side and rubbed tears of mirth from his eyes. "Accuse her of somethin' unfair and she'd fly at you like a queen coeurl sittin' on a hedgehog pie!" Cid laughed uproariously again, and it was Rikku's turn to cross her arms and stare at him.

"'Accuse me of something unfair?' If you know that, then why are you down here buggin' me?" she whined, getting tired of constantly being the object of amusement.

Cid straightened up but still smiled broadly. "I'm 'buggin' you 'cause if someone don't then you'd never get off your lazy behind and start movin'. I know you Rikku," Cid said, looking warmly at his little girl. "You've got tons of potential, but you just aren't motivated to do anything with it."

Rikku's mouth hung open in objection as she glared at him, about to defend herself before Cid continued.

"O' course I know you're a little genius, fixin' Daddy's propulsion system and reconfiguring the hydrothermal fuel gauges, and that's why I hate to see you taggin' along behind everyone else, not taking the initiative to make a life for yourself." Cid's smile softened. "I don't want to see my little girl wastin' away in the shadows of this ship. I want to see you get out there and make a life of your own."

Rikku closed her mouth, unable to think of a response. Of course she had never planned on just staying on this ship for the rest of her life, and she shuddered at the thought of never "moving out," (if that's what you called this nomadic life of living with her father from ship to ship) but then again, she had never really considered going anywhere else.

Meanwhile, Cid was still ranting.

"...kids nowadays have no sense of direction, floatin' through life like a bob at the end of a fishin' pole..."

Rikku rolled her eyes. She'd done tons of stuff on her own already. She'd helped defeat Sin when she was only 15, for crying out loud! Not to mention that a mere three months ago, she'd gone on that huge road trip with Yuna and Paine and defeated Vegnagun in the process. And here her father was complaining that she'd never gone out and "seen the world."

"Vydran!" She yelled, interrupting her father. "Geeze! It's not like I've just sat around like a bump on a log for the past 18 years! There's just nothing to do right now. Aren't I allowed to take a break?"

"'Breaks are 15 minutes, if you're lucky!" Cid said gruffly, moving back into "overseer mode." "You've got a good start, but startin' ain't enough! O' course I know about all your accomplishments, and I couldn't be prouder of ya..." Cid smiled down at her again and ruffled her hair. She glowered up at him and tried to smooth her hair again.

"But _do_ somethin' with all that experience! All your life, I've watched you tag along in groups, and for once, I want to see you-"

"Gee Dad," Rikku smiled slyly. "If saving the world twice weren't enough for you, I don't know what is!"

"Aw, come on now..." Cid said, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. "That ain't no occupation for a lady of your talents. Rikku, what you need to do is examine your strengths and go with them. Now I know what a whiz you are with machines, not to mention your skill at invention with those items you throw together..." Cid started looking nervous as he neared his main point. "Plus you work well in groups and..."

"Wait a minute..." Rikku started, suspicious. "You've already decided where I should work, haven't you?"

"Ah, well, it's just a thought, Cid said guiltily, looking away. "It's just the place for you to prove yourself and do what you do best... And, I know how you want to help me rebuild Home, so..."

"Just spit it out old man, where do you want to ship me off to?" Rikku smiled at her father's bluntness. She didn't mind working for him, as he was planning on rebuilding Home and she wanted to be a part of it. He probably wanted to send her to one of his resource and repair divisions scattered all over Spira, like the Sanubia.

"How about Djose Temple?"

Rikku's jaw dropped. Djose? Isn't that where...

"Gippal just sent me a request for more skilled mechanics," Cid went on, unaware of Rikku's sudden alarm. "And I know that you-"

"NO WAY!" Rikku shouted, springing to her feet. "I'm not going to work under that... that pig-headed, ego-inflated..."

"What are you talking about, Rikku?" Cid said scowling again. "Gippal?" Cid suddenly went into "Over-Protective and Vicious Father Mode."

"Is he giving you trouble, Rikku? I _knew_ there was trouble after he left Yuna's party, _not to mention_ when he was dancing with you like, like..._ that_..." Cid's face flushed with anger and veins were starting to pop out of his temples. Rikku knew she had to calm him down before he hurt himself.

"I'm just gonna take that little pretty-boy face of his and just SMA-"

"Dad!" Rikku cried as her father slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a dent. "Dad, are you alright?" She asked cautiously.

"Ugghh... Yeah, yeah, I'm okay..." Cid said, sucking on his knuckles. "I just don't want no playboy like that harassing my little girl... I know what kind of reputation that kid has..."

"Y, yeah, but you know... he's okay when he wants to be..." Rikku said, trying to pacify her father. "And you know he's really smart, well, with machines anyway..." Rikku thought about how he was in charge of the movement to replace chocobo power with the steam engine.

"And he's a good worker, and, well, kind of a nice guy when you get to know him, (but not when he's too busy trying to impress the nearest thing with legs)," she said with a frown off to the side. Cid smiled knowingly as he watched his daughter try to defend Gippal.

"Plus, he _did_ try to help us with Vegnagun not too long ago," Rikku went on, unaware that she wasn't angry at Gippal anymore, either. "So that must mean he's good for something..."

Rikku turned back to her father to see him grinning at her. "Whhaaat...?" She whined, not liking that grin one bit.

"Okay, Rikku. I understand where you're comin' from..." Cid said a little too casually. Rikku eyed him suspiciously.

"I wouldn't send my little girl to such an unqualified, unmannerly, disrespectful lowlife like Gippal," Cid said, still smiling. Rikku looked confused.

"Uh, Dad, that's not what I was say-"

"You're not going to Djose, and that's final!" he declared.

"Huh?" Rikku asked, now completely confused. "Pops, I just meant that it was okay, I guess I don't really mind..."

"No, no, I really need your help back on Bikanel," Cid went on quickly. "Djose can wait; Djose can wait..." Cid was beginning to look like a plan was wildly forming in his head as he paced the room. Rikku was officially worried.

"All you need to do is get one of those permission slips from Gippal- yes, yes, I know you hate him, but I did delegate that power to him- and then you can really get your feet wet in the excavation division in the Sanubia. You've done it before, right?" Cid went on before Rikku could open her mouth to answer.

"Yes! If I remember correctly, Gippal should be in Luca today. I have one of the papers handy, all you need is his signature, and you're all set!" He beamed down at his daughter as if he had just granted his spoiled four year old daughter a pony.

"Um, thanks, Dad... I think..." Rikku said with a small, confused smile and a shrug before she hugged him.

_Absence makes the heart grow fonder_, Cid smiled deviously himself.

* * *

The deafening roar of a waterfall pounded in Gippal's ears from where he lay face forward in the grass. He slowly opened his eye and looked around him. 

"Waterfall?" was the first word out of his lips as he tried to clear the haziness from his vision after the sudden collision with the ground.

_There aren't any waterfalls in the middle of the Mi'ihen Highroad_, he thought dazedly. He tried to turn his head and winced as his vision went fuzzy again. He had dove out of the way of that speeding hoover that was going to crash right into him, and now he was in Besaid?

_Where's the hoover?_ he thought suddenly and sat up, looking around him. He seemed to be lying in the grass off to the side of the path leading to Besaid harbor, near the cliff that he had stood on the day before. He had expected to see all three hoovers in a blazing ball of fire on the highroad... but there wasn't a single hoover in sight. Only waterfalls and a clear blue sky.

Suddenly, he caught a flash of yellow from behind the roaring sheet of water. He tried to stand up but wobbled woozily. He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, trying to shake his head clear. He thought he heard someone laughing cheerfully.

"R... Rikku?"

Rikku's blonde head peaked out from behind the waterfall, smiling. She jumped out onto the path in front of him and laughed again, striking a pose.

"What's the matter, Gippy? Too much to drink?" she asked playfully.

"Rikku... what am I doing here?" He asked slowly. He looked at Rikku warily, still uncertain of the whole situation. "I thought I was on Mi'ihen..."

"I think you got a bump on the head, Gippal," she smiled as she walked over to where he stood shakily and looked up at him. For a moment, the thundering sound of the water falling all around them made him a little dizzy, and he felt like he was falling forward into those green, swirling eyes...

"Are you going to kiss me or what?"

"Huh?"

The roaring hoover engine was so loud, it sounded like it was right on top of where Gippal lay in the grass, rubbing his head after throwing himself out of the way of the kamikaze machina. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of deep brown eyes staring down at him. He gave a start at the sudden surprise of seeing someone hoovering above him, and hastily tried to sit up.

A wave of nausea washed over him and stars burst into his vision. He moaned and clutched his head as he lay back down on someone's lap. He heard a deep, throaty woman's chuckle, and for a moment he thought that he was being cradled in the arms of that dominatrix summoner, Donna.

"Take it easy," the woman's voice coaxed. "I don't need you heaving up your guts all over me, now do I?"

Gippal squeezed his eyes shut and tried to swallow the bile that had rushed to the back of his throat. Ignoring the sultry, mocking voice for now, Gippal concentrated on regaining control of his senses. He smelled the sharp, pungent odor of hoover exhaust, and knew that he was back on the highroad. He must have blacked out after his fall and had been dreaming...

He tried to sit up again and focus his vision. He saw the three hoovers all parked in very close proximity of each other, but otherwise in tact. Blappa was shouting in angry Al Bhed at the driver of the other hoover.

He suddenly became aware of the throaty laughter again, and he turned his head to look back at where he had been lying in some woman's lap. There sat the woman with the brown eyes and Donna-esque laugh, kneeling on the ground and laughing softly at him with her finger tips covering her mouth. She removed them and extended her hand toward him.

"I am Anje," she said with a smile to match her laugh. Gippal raised an eyebrow and took her hand. She was wearing a red leather suit that was at least as tight as the notorious Donna's, and her thick, dark brown hair was tightly braided to where it brushed her waist. She laughed again as he stared at her.

"Well aren't you the mannerly fellow?" she spoke in the manner of her suggestive laugh. "Are you not even going to introduce yourself, Gippal?"

Gippal blinked and remembered that he was still holding her hand. Immediately, he switched on the charm that usually went into effect when dealing with good-looking females. He flashed her a dazzling smile as he stood up and bent over her hand, pressing his lips lightly to her skin.

"My lady!" he cried exaggeratedly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting? Was it fate that threw me into the solacing arms of an angel?"

He grinned down at her and she returned his flirtatious smile.

"Why Gippal," she purred, running her fingers lightly up his arm. His eyebrows shot up in surprise of her sudden advances- most women pulled away blushing after the "Prince Charming" introduction, but this one switched it right back at him. He suppressed a shiver.

"They told me you were good with the ladies, but I never expected hands-on experience..." The breathy voice suggested otherwise.

"Ahem," Gippal feigned a cough and ducked his head to the side as her face drew closer. He was _definitely_ not used to sudden return advances.

Trying to keep the cooler upper hand, he pulled her to him and then spun her around until she was an arm's length away. He smiled and bowed to her, in keeping with his act.

"I see that my reputation precedes me! But do not be alarmed, fair lady, for I am a true gentleman."

Anje laughed again and opened to her mouth to undoubtably reply with something coy when Blappa jogged over to them. Gippal tried to hide his relief as he turned to Blappa.

"All's well?" Gippal inquired of his still-scowling friend. Blappa shot a disapproving glance at Anje as she sauntered over to join the conversation. He was obviously still sore about the near collision but still had enough poise to resist taking it out on the lady.

"About as well as could be expected," he said sourly and spat into the grass. Anje's eyebrows quirked in a flash of annoyance but quickly smoothed back into their graceful arch.

"I do apologize for that," Anje answered with exaggerated sympathy. "I agree that Torro was going a bit too fast, but we were driven by urgent business. Meeting with the Machine Faction Leader was a top priority."

Blappa snorted. "Yeah, I suppose 'top priority' would include mowing him down with a hoover." Anje didn't bother to hide her scowl this time as she opened her mouth to administer a scathing reply.

"Well, what's the urgent business?" Gippal interjected, noticing the apparent storm brewing between the two. "As if just the pleasure of meeting with me weren't urgent enough?" He flashed his dazzling grin again, but this time the woman was unfazed and all business. She extended her hand again to both men and shook with a much firmer grip than her playfulness before.

"I am the envoy from Bevelle," she stated bluntly. "I'm sure that you have received notice by now that I have come on behalf of the temple to extend friendly relations to the Machine Faction." She paused to pull a slip of paper from a slim black briefcase that Gippal had not noticed before. She held it out to him and he took it curiously. After a quick scan, it seemed to be some sort of leasing document, concerning property rights to Djose temple.

"Please note that this is strictly a matter of interest, and I ask you not to view this as an investigation or intrusion, but the people of Bevelle are interested in determining your intentions for their property..."

"What!" Gippal nearly shouted, completely thunderstruck. "'_Their_ property?' 'A matter of interest?' That temple was abandoned- I didn't see them running to defend it when we worked to clear all the fiends out of it and do all the repairs!"

"The fact remains that it is considered holy ground by the people of Bevelle and those still following the teachings of Yevon," Anje continued on, unfazed. "I would not venture to say that they consider your presence there 'sacrilegious,' per se, but they are concerned about property rights and rental payments..."

"These people are still following Yevon after it has been proven repeatedly how backward and perverted the teachings were, and after the official denunciation by ex-Praetor Baralai himself!" Blappa yelled disbelievingly.

"No, they're only doing it for the money," Gippal said darkly as he stared at the piece of paper Anje had given him. "Leasing fees, rental fees, maintenance fees... These are your 'friendly relations?'" he asked, glaring up from the paper at the cool and composed Anje.

"The people of Bevelle have been more than lenient up to this point, bending over backward to allow you to keep up residency and even managing profiting business on their property, and I'll ask you to consider their proposals in an orderly, professional manner," she went on, ignoring the anger igniting in the two Al Bhed men as she extracted another document from her briefcase.

"They truly do wish to engage in negotiations and concessions, seeking only a united, integrated position between the Faction and Bevelle." She smiled at Gippal again and held out the contract; her face radiating her complete confidence that Gippal was screwed and there was nothing he could do about it.

She watched Gippal with her smile dripping acid as he absorbed the situation. "Integration," "Unity..." As if the Al Bhed hadn't been striving for that for centuries. Now they send a lawyer over to "negotiate" their "concessions," now that there was profit and gil involved.

It made Gippal sick, but he knew he was going to have to cooperate. He was going to have to concede or else spark conflict between the two groups- something that Spira had just struggled so hard to overcome.

Gippal looked up to see Anje smiling her seductive smile again. Suddenly, the more devious and desperate part of his mind clicked into action, realizing his position in these dealings. If there was something he could do, anything he could do... To avoid this conflict and keep the progression his people had strived so hard to achieve...

He knew that if he had to grant partnership to the Yevonites, the Al Bhed would just be treated with the same disrespect- the attitude that they were only tools of profit for the temples. He'd rather die than see that happen again.

"Well Gippal?" She asked and placed her fingertips lightly on his hand that held the contract. "Are you willing to work with me?"

But what else could he do? Kill her? Seduce her? No, ultimately she was only a middle man (woman), the go-between... But she was the one negotiating this treaty, and if he could win her over, then maybe, maybe...

A mask of cool composure slid over his face, as it did when he was playing the "Prince Charming" act. He knew the kind of woman she was, the kind of games she wanted to play. She might have been hired to represent Bevelle and Yevon, but she was ultimately a mercenary, and therefore could be bought for a price...

"Why don't we head back to Luca, then?" Gippal smiled just as suggestively. "We can discuss this more comfortably over coffee." He smiled and linked arms with her. Anje nearly purred in delight as she ran her fingers over his arm.

"Now this is the Gippal I could get used to," she said, hugging his arm closer as he led her away.

Blappa just stared open-mouthed at Gippal's sudden change in disposition as Gippal led Anje back to the hoover. If it had been him, he would have tore the paper to shreds, spit on it, and then spit on that demon-woman. He had expected Gippal to do the same. What was that man planning? Was he actually going to work with her?

Blappa watched as they got on the hoover he had brought from Luca and started back down to the city.

"Lnywo syh," he muttered, shaking his head. "You have no idea what you're getting into."

* * *

"Lnywo syh," (_"Crazy man"_) 

**A/N:** Whee! The next chapter is my** FAVORITE!** It's mostly written already, so the next update should be sooner than the last (I hope!). I'm warning you, though, it's going to be a loooong one!

Tune in next time!

**-P**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!


	4. A Little Clumsy

Chapter 4  
A Little Clumsy

* * *

Rikku stumbled over the threshold of the sub door and sprawled all over the wooden planks of the dock. She heard guffawing laughter as she rubbed her behind and pulled herself to her feet. 

"Now you git on and get that paper signed, you hear?" Cid called out to her from the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. "You ain't gettin' back on this submarine until you find Gippal!" Cid grinned at his daughter's pouty frown before she stomped off into town.

"Kids these days..." Cid muttered to himself with a smile as he turned back into the sub.

"Stinky old man..." Rikku muttered to herself as she rubbed the sore spot on her behind and looked around her. She was in the crowded stadium hall, standing on her toes to see over the heads of the crowd for one familiar, spikey blonde head with an annoying attitude.

"Hmph!" Rikku stomped her foot in exasperation. "You'd think it would be easy to find a head as puffed-up as his," Rikku complained loudly as she made her way to the stadium entrance. Despite the fact that she had almost been defending Gippal in front of her father little over an hour ago, Rikku was in an overall bad mood with the prospect of having to beg him to allow her to work for him, and renewed her resolve to be pouty and to make him apologize.

"When I find him..." she muttered again as she wandered through the streets of Luca, eyes scanning the crowd quickly. "I don't suppose there's a directory for finding rude, obnoxious, annoying- huh?"

Rikku paused in mid-complaint as she saw a hoover fast approaching off the highroad. She squinted in the afternoon sun and watched as a tall, blonde man jumped off the hoover and extended his hand to-

"Hey!" Rikku yelped in surprise. "That's Gippal! I'd know that cocky stance anywhere!"

Rikku took off across the plaza, clumsily attempting to dodge the thick crowd in Luca's busiest marketplace to get to Gippal.

"'Scuse me! Pardon me!" she winced as she trod all over an elderly woman's foot. "Sorry! I have to get-whoa!" She backed into a crate of produce and brought the whole display down on her head.

Dizzy from the collision, Rikku lay flat on her back seeing stars. She thought she heard the angry shouting of the merchant whose wares she was now laying on, and she woozily attempted to stand.

"S, sorry," Rikku began while she tried to rub the dizziness from her eyes. Suddenly, she heard familiar chuckling in front of her as strong hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Well if it isn't Cid's little girl," Gippal grinned devilishly as Rikku's eyes snapped open and glared at him.

"Taking a nap, Coo-Coo? That didn't look like a very comfortable position..." Oh, how he loved mocking her, but what was she doing all the way over here in Luca? He watched as her face burned red and she wrestled her way out of his grip. He crossed his arms in front of him, waiting for the reprimand that he knew was coming.

"Geeze, Gippal!" Rikku fumed. Of course it wasn't bad enough that she had embarrassed herself in front of a street full of people, but now Gippal had to see it and she'd never be able to wipe that smirk off his face.

"It's all your fault, anyway!" she went on as she tried to pull her tiny skirt back into place. Gippal bit his lip very hard as he tried not to laugh at the comical scene she was making, angry and disheveled as she already was.

"I was only trying to talk to _you_ in the first place!" she huffed indignantly.

"Oh?" Gippal raised his eyebrow suggestively. "And to what do I owe the honor of your attention?"

Rikku glared at him again before she realized that she was no longer holding the papers that she needed him to sign.

_Oh!_ She thought wildly as she started checking all her pockets. "I dropped it!"

She started frantically rummaging around through the mess she made, picking up fruit and crates and throwing them over her shoulder as she searched for the paper. The merchant started screaming again as she continued to bruise his produce and the people in the crowd started screaming as she hit them with things like pineapples.

Gippal laughed and watched the chaos erupt at Rikku's single-minded determination. After a few moments of catching his breath, he ran over to her and caught her arm in mid-toss.

"Rikku!" he said, trying not to laugh. "What the heck is the matter with you? What are you looking for?"

"The papers!" she said, frustrated. "I need you to sign the papers!" Just then, she spotted a tattered piece of paper pinned underneath the empty pineapple crate.

"Ah ha!" Rikku scrambled down for it and pulled it triumphantly out from underneath the crate. She was still on her hands and knees, bent over the crate when she heard the sound of high heels clicking over the pavement and stopping right in front of her.

Rikku slowly raised her head to find a dark-haired, olive-complected woman dressed in an extremely tight, red leather business suit.

Before Rikku had time enough to wonder how the unfamiliar woman could breathe in such a painful-looking outfit, the woman smiled down at her and spoke.

"'Sign the papers?'" she echoed in a sultry voice. She smirked down at Rikku and snatched the papers out of her hand. Rikku disliked the woman immediately.

"Is this your little secretary, Gippy?" Anje purred as her almond-shaped eyes expertly scanned the papers she had ripped away from Rikku. She paused to looked down at the little girl before her. Nothing impressive, just a scrawny, clumsy, little teenage girl with a bad temper that was flaring up right in front of her.

"'Secretary!' As if!" Rikku said indignantly and pulled herself off the ground. This woman was obviously another one of Gippal's floozies. Just listening to that simpering little voice of hers brought back memories of Gippal's giggling cluster of brunettes at Yuna's wedding. Rikku blushed again.

"Listen!" Rikku angrily snatched the papers away from Anje, who just smiled and crossed her arms over her ample chest. Rikku turned to Gippal, who was watching her closely. She was caught off guard by his suddenly serious eye on her, but she regained her composure quickly and started in again.

"I just need your stupid signature on this piece of paper that says I can work on Bikanel, okay?"

She stood with one hand on her hip and the other extending the paper toward him as she stared determinedly up at his narrowed gaze. For a moment he was silent, as if contemplating something, and then he spoke:

"No way."

He stepped over the apples and marched off in the direction of the café across the plaza. Anje flashed a devilish grin back at Rikku before trotting after him. Rikku just stood with her mouth gaping open in stunned silence at his abrupt dismissal before she shook her head and started after him.

"H, hey!" she yelled at him as she caught up and tugged on his arm. He turned around and glared at her. She was speechless for a moment again as she felt that cold, piercing blue stare on her, and she realized that he was really angry- this was the second time she'd seen him so after she first saw this face at Yuna's wedding.

"You, you can't just walk away from me like that!" Rikku stammered nervously but still angry. "Why won't you just sign it, okay? Then I won't be in your way anymore!"

"On the contrary," he said mockingly as he turned to face her. She noticed that it wasn't with his usual playful mocking attitude. Was he really still angry with her?

"You will be right smack in the middle of my way if I let you work on that island. Excavating is my job, remember? I'm not willing to make a child my partner." Gippal pulled his arm out of her grasp and looked away. He knew that was a low blow, jabbing at her age again, but he couldn't think of another argument.

"What?" Rikku gasped at this unfair treatment. "I'm not a child! I've done this before, remember! Hey, listen to me!" She reached up and pulled his face back in front of her as he started to turn away. He looked annoyed, but also, to Rikku's surprise, a little tired.

"Listen, Rikku," he said seriously. He stared down at her and softened a little at the look on her face that held none of the anger she had before. He knew she could never stay angry for very long, but he almost preferred that to the hurt confusion he saw in her eyes now.

"The desert isn't a good place for a girl like you, alright? It's heavy, dirty, rough work, and-"

"Don't give me that!" she yelled, indignant again. "I'm not some prissy 'Daddy's Girl;' I can take care of myself! What is it going to take to make you quit treating me like a little kid!"

Rikku glared up at Gippal as he closed his eye and bit his bottom lip. It's not like he didn't think she couldn't do the work- hell, he'd seen her fight Vegnagun where he had to duck out- but he didn't like being the one to put her in that position.

Gippal opened his eye and stared thoughtfully down at her for a moment longer. She held his gaze determinedly, waiting for his response. He smiled a little. How could she go from being such a take-charge woman like she was now to the whiny, clumsy little girl she was a minute ago? Before Gippal could voice this question, another voice chimed in-

"Gippy!" called Anje, who had crossed the street and now stood in front of the café. He winced at the nickname as he looked over at her where she stood waving. He still had a job to do. He forced his face back into a frown before he turned to Rikku.

"I said 'no,' Rikku, and if you're as grown-up as you claim to be, you'll respect my decision." He went on as she opened her mouth to protest. "Now go back to your father's ship and leave me alone."

With that, he turned around and walked across the street to meet Anje, leaving the freshly-incensed Rikku in his wake. She watched as Anje twined her arm around his and led him past the line that was waiting to be admitted.

The nerve! Rikku stomped her foot as she watched the devil-woman smooth talk the two burly bouncers standing at the entrance to the posh new café. She wasn't going to let them get away so easily.

* * *

The tall, burly man called "Jules" cast another long, untrusting glance at Gippal. Gippal scowled right back, entirely familiar with the anti-Al Bhed attitude he was getting right now. Anje apparently had connections with the owner of the club, and they would have had VIP admission, if not for this racist bastard standing in front of him. 

"Oh don't worry about him," Anje smiled seductively at the bouncer while lightly tracing her finger over his broad chest. "He's with me."

Gippal rolled his eye. "Yeah, don't worry. I even brought my own silverware so you don't have to worry about any Al Bhed germs spreading all over your pristine Yevonite ass."

Jules squinted at Gippal with his mouth slightly unhinged as he pondered whether or not Gippal was joking while Anje went ahead through the door. Gippal smiled at the guard as he passed.

"Don't work too hard, there, pal," he said jovially, raising his arm a full foot to pat the man on the shoulder. "I hear there are more wicked Al Bhed afoot!"

Jules scowled at Gippal when the shorter man winked and walked by. The bouncer turned around still scowling, when he felt a small, speeding object collide with his stomach. He looked down to see a young blonde girl sitting on her bottom, rubbing her head after having been knocked down from running head-long into him. His mood instantly improved as he threw a smirk at his partner, signaling to him.

"Well lookie what we got 'ere, Neep. A little girly-girl, run straight into me arms!"

Rikku looked dazedly up- way up- at the fleshy wall that had just knocked her to the ground, and saw two leering faces snickering at each other above her.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Neep shouldered up to his buddy and smirked down at her. "What are you doin' out here all by your lonesome?" The two men guffawed loudly as Rikku glared at them.

"Hey! Lemme through!" Rikku commanded, standing on tiptoes and jumping up and down to peer over the burly shoulder muscles of the bouncer that had just stepped in front of her.

"Heh heh," Jules chortled, "wassa matter, lookin' for some company?"

Gippal stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder to see the two thick-necked bouncers standing in front of Rikku, blocking her entrance.

_Hmph_, Gippal thought to himself. Serves her right for trying to follow me. He turned to walk through the door, trying to ignore the on-going conversation behind him.

"Just be a good little girl... Don't worry, I'm sure we can find something to do..." The bouncers shared another loud round of ugly, snorting laughter. They shouldered Rikku toward the brick wall of the café and laughed again. Rikku yelped as Neep reached out and grabbed her shoulders, hustling her against the wall.

"Hey!" Rikku yelled angrily, throwing his hands off of her. "You'd better back the heck off or I'll..."

The men ignored her and laughed even more, touching her hair and stroking her skin. Neep reached out an over-sized hand and grabbed at her bikini top strap and snapped it.

"Don't... touch... _me_!" Rikku yelled as she squirmed out of his grasp and swung a wild punch in his general direction. Her bare fist thudded hollowly on his chest, but he didn't move an inch and just laughed.

"Why, look at what pretty eyes yous have?" Neep cooed at her. "Hey Jules, check this out- big, green, swirly eyes..."

"Eh? You an Al Bhed?" Jules said squinting with his lip turned up in disgust.

"Heh heh, no worries..." Neep leered even more sinisterly. "We know just how to treat little Al Bhed girls..."

"Yeah," Jules snickered. "We know your kind like it rough..."

Suddenly, Jules's head came hurtling toward the wall after something struck it from behind. Rikku ducked just in time as his forehead struck the brick with a sickening crack. Neep barely had time to gasp in surprise as an elbow collided with his nose, rupturing it like an overly-ripe tomato. He clasped his hands to his face and slid down against the wall next to his unconscious friend.

Gippal stood over them, his arm still raised as he stared menacingly down at the bleeding pair. Rikku was shocked and more than a little scared at seeing the look of pure anger and hatred etched all over Gippal's face as he looked down at his victims.

"Don't you ever," Gippal spoke in a low and even voice as the crowd that had been waiting in line behind him scattered in fear of the brawl. "..._ever_ touch her or any other girl again. Not an Al Bhed, a Guado, or even whatever the hell species you call yourselves..."

Neep cast a frightened, involuntary glace toward where Rikku had flattened herself against the wall. Gippal swung a steel-toed boot into the man's gut and Neep crumpled over, coughing up blood.

"Don't you fucking look at her!" Gippal yelled, fury crackling in his voice. He swooped down and grabbed the man by the neck and threw him against the wall, pinning him. Gippal pulled back his other fist, preparing to flatten the 280 lb. bouncer's head into the red brick wall behind him, until Rikku let out a frightened whimper.

Gippal looked quickly over in her direction and saw her with her hands clasped over her mouth, tears running out of her frightened eyes. Rikku felt a terrified pang in her heart as she looked at him, his face riddled with murderous fury as he prepared to kill the man in front of him.

Gippal shoved Neep back against the wall and gave him one final stare down before throwing his hand away from him in disgust. Gippal strode quickly over to where Rikku was huddled against the wall and grabbed her arm, dragging her way from the café. Rikku was numb with terror and tripped, her knees scraping on the concrete. Gippal jerked her arm up and kept walking, pulling her into the shadow of an alley across the street.

Rikku pulled her arm away from him and rubbed it where a red mark was forming from the forcefulness of his grip. Gippal held his head in one hand as he paced back and forth in front of her. She watched him and never felt so scared in her life.

Finally, Gippal stopped pacing and looked at her. A fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes, and she felt sick to her stomach. She wrapped her arms around herself and started to slide down against the wall, sobbing. In an instant, Gippal had his arms around her, holding her tightly and stroking the back of her head, murmuring with his lips pressed into her hair.

"Rikku, oh Fayth, my Rikku..."

He rocked her slowly like that, swallowing tears of his own. She held her arms folded tightly against herself as she sobbed against his chest, leaning all her weight onto him. He breathed in the scent of her- her shampoo, her perfume; that smell that was so indelibly Rikku...

Her breathing began to slow and she hiccupped as her sobbing subsided. He sank to the ground with her, still pressing her to him, internally cursing himself for causing this.

It wasn't long until the sniffling and the hiccupping stopped all together, and her head lay heavily on his shoulder. He didn't have to look at her to know that she was asleep; her breathing now slow and even and deep- she was calm and dreaming.

Gippal didn't know how long he held her like that, kneeling in that dark alleyway with his eyes closed and mind a complete void. He must have eventually fallen asleep, as he woke with a start- the wind chilled the sweat on his neck and brow. He had slumped against the wall behind him, but his arms were still wrapped around something warm and soft that had fallen with him and lay against his chest, still sleeping peacefully.

He looked down at her and noticed how her eyebrows gathered and the corners of her mouth turned down. _Maybe she's not sleeping so peacefully after all_, Gippal thought to himself. He looked around at the dark and deserted streets of Luca with their stray newspapers rolling along with the wind. There was no moon, and he saw the pale light on the horizon and knew that it must be about dawn.

He shivered, and suddenly noticed that Rikku was shivering a little, too. He carefully scooped her up in his arms as to not wake her up, and stepped out of the alley and into the street. He stopped and looked about, ignoring the dog that was sniffing and licking the dried blood on his boot.

He started walking until he arrived at the door he was looking for, and with a little maneuvering, entered the inn. The small lobby was decorated more like a living room, which was dark and deserted at 4:37 AM as the clock on the wall indicated. He shifted Rikku's weight and walked up to the counter, wondering if ringing the service bell would wake her up. He settled for banging his foot against the wooden counter and hissing at the door beyond:

"Hey, hey! Anybody home? You want me to just walk right in or what?"

A few moments of banging later, Gippal was satisfied as he heard distant muffled cursing and a heavy thump, indicating that he had gotten someone's attention. He looked around the room again and noticed a small love seat near the window. He walked over to it and gently laid Rikku down as someone emerged from the door behind the counter, still muttering curses.

Gippal didn't turn around until Rikku was safely situated on the seat, much to the proprietor of the inn's annoyance.

"What in blazin' hellfire are you wantin' at four AM in the mornin' eh?" said a gruff, sleepy voice. "Can't you kids get to bed at a decent hour anymore? We're all filled up for the night!"

Gippal turned around and flashed his most winning smile at the grumpy man standing before him.

"Pops! You're awake!" he spoke in enthusiastic Al Bhed to the old man wearing the night dress in front of him. "Long time, no see!"

"Well I'll be..." murmured the old man as he held up an monocle and looked at Gippal wonderingly. "Gippal! If I ain't seen you..."

The two men laughed and Gippal walked over to give the old man a hug.

"It's been a long night, Dad. Mind if I put up in my old room on the second floor? We can talk more in the morning."

"Ha, it's morning as we speak!" cried the old man happily. Gippal shushed him and motioned toward the love seat.

"Oh," whispered the old man, understanding. "I see. Well, Gippal, you know I don't approve of you bringing unconscious ladies home in the middle of the night, but I trust we'll be properly introduced at a decent hour, eh?" the old man smiled and winked at Gippal, giving him a nudge in the ribs with his elbow. Gippal laughed nervously.

"Uh, right Pops. In the morning. Now I'll just take her upstairs- she's had rough evening. There isn't anyone up there to wake her up, is there?"

"Ah, no," said the father wearily. "Business is slow without blitz season right now, so people don't bother much with an Al Bhed business unless they can help it. You can put her up without botherin' anyone but your old man here."

"Thanks, Dad." Gippal gave him another hug before turning around and carefully lifting Rikku up again. He carried her slowly up the stairs and into the little room at the end of the hallway. He stepped in and looked around the slightly dusty bedroom before approaching the bed and laying Rikku gently under the covers.

He stood watching over her for a moment as she frowned a little and shifted under the blankets that were stiff from lack of use. He bent over her and gently ran his fingers over her forehead, brushing away errant strands of hair. After a few moments, the creases in her face faded as she fell back into a deep sleep, and he stood up and left the room.

**

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Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	5. A Little Afraid

Chapter 5  
A Little Afraid

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Rikku cracked one groggy eye as the sunlight streamed through the nearby window, filling the bedroom with a yellow light. She smiled and rolled over in bed, burying her face into her pillow for a few more precious moments of sleep before her father would undoubtably come down the stairs and march her military-style to the sub bridge... 

Rikku's head snapped up, her eyes open wide in a sudden flash of fear. There was no sunlight in the submarine, certainly not below decks where she slept. Rikku peered slowly around the room, taking in the foreign surroundings. She was in a small, second-story bedroom that looked like it used to be a children's room but was now used for storage. There were boxes lining the walls and the dusty shelves were crammed with broken toys and long-forgotten souvenirs.

_Innocent enough_, Rikku thought to herself. _But how the heck did I get here? _

Rikku squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember the evening before. She saw the bleeding bouncers splayed against the wall, and the raging anger twisting Gippal's face as he stood over them...

Rikku shuddered. She had never seen anyone so angry, and she never imagined that the face that smiled so easily could be hardened into such murderous hatred.

Shaking her head to clear the bad memory from her mind, Rikku pulled off the covers of the bed and touched her bare feet to the cold, hardwood floor. Someone must have taken her shoes off, because she didn't remember doing it. She suddenly noticed that her feet weren't the only cold part of her body, and she looked down to find her top slipping off. Anger flushed back to her cheeks as she remembered the thick fingers that snapped the string, and she hastily tried to tie it back into a knot.

When she finally stood up, she saw her disheveled appearance in mirror across the room. She tried to straighten her few articles of clothing, but few as they were there was not much she could do about it. The wind blew in through the open window, and she shivered again. She looked around the room for something to cover herself a little more thoroughly and found a grey sweatshirt that had been laid at the foot of the bed.

Without really questioning who had laid it there, Rikku pulled the over-sized shirt over her head and found that it almost reached her knees, but at least she was a little warmer. She held out her arm to see the cuff reach her fingertips, and a familiar scent wafted up from the material. She closed her eyes and the image of a smiling face and a glittering blue eye drifted across her mind.

_If this is his shirt and he brought me here, then he must be near by_, she thought.

She was just beginning to wonder what she should do when another familiar scent caught her attention. Breakfast! If there was one compensation for having to leave the warm sanctuary of her bed, it was fried sausages and orange juice.

Rikku nearly bounded down the stairs, spirits instantly lifted at the prospect of eating as she followed her nose to the kitchen. She hesitated in the doorway of the tiny kitchen and watched as a short, plump, 50-ish year-old man hummed merrily to himself as he flipped a pancake into the air. She saw a tiny table in the corner of the room laden with fried eggs, sausages, orange juice, pancakes, and blueberry muffins. Rikku's mouth watered and she eyed the feast before her.

"Oh! Good morning there!" cried the little man in front of the stove. Rikku jumped a little. She had forgotten about the old man standing across the room. She hastily attempted an apology, but the old man just smiled even more broadly and waved her away.

"Oh, nonsense!" he said blithely as he turned another fried egg. "I seem to have that effect on the ladies." He winked at her before returning his attention to the stove, and Rikku felt a familiar jolt as she remembered another with that signature wink.

Rikku watched him for another few moments and noticed the he was cooking everything simultaneously- flipping pancakes with one hand while he fried the meat and eggs with the other. Rikku felt a little guilty just standing there, so she cautiously walked over to the stove to offer assistance.

"Erm, do you need some help?" she smiled nervously.

"Oh no no!" he said, flipping another pancake onto a plate. "You just take a seat and let this old man be your host." He flashed her another grin before turning off the stove and carrying the last plates of food over to the table. Rikku followed and had a seat after him. She watched as he piled food onto a plate and set it in front of her.

"Go on now, eat! I see that hungry look in your eye! I like to see a girl with a healthy appetite!" He smiled at her as he filled his own plate and speared an egg with his fork.

"My name is Errik, by the way, but you can call me Pops," he added with a wink. "I don't suppose that good-for-nothing boy of mine even mentioned me, did he? Oh well, he's a good boy..."

"Erm, are you talking about Gippal, Sir?" Rikku asked.

"Goodness, I hope there's only one of him! He's a handful on his own!" he said, still smiling as he waved his fork through the air at her. "And don't give me that 'Sir' business, either! Call me Pops!"

Rikku smiled at this as she picked up her fork and started cutting a sausage patty. Patties were the best- she hated the links.

The two continued chatting as they ate their breakfast. Rikku told him that she was planning on excavating on Bikanel Island, but she had to get Gippal's approval first, and that's why she was in town. She carefully avoided mentioning what had happened after she found Gippal, as she wasn't so sure she wanted to remember it herself.

"Oh, is that all?" the old man asked between bites. "The way he brought you in here last night had me thinking something else. You know, he never brings home young ladies for me to meet. You must be special," he added with another wink.

Rikku blushed. "No, no, we're just friends!" _If even that_, she thought sourly as she swallowed some orange juice. With "friends" like that red-leather dominatrix, she doubted that he had an interest in "just friends."

"Don't let Rikku fool you, Pops," called a voice from the kitchen threshold. Rikku jumped a mile out of her seat, splashing orange juice all over her plate.

Gippal leaned against the doorway and smiled at her as she turned to look at him. "We're closer than she lets on," he finished.

A furious blush crept over Rikku's face as she turned back around in her seat. When had _he_ come in? She could feel his mocking gaze on her and like a flood, the memories of yesterday rushed back in on her.

"I, I'm sorry, S- I mean, Pops," Rikku became suddenly nervous and the old man eyed her curiously.

"My... my own dad has no idea where I am right now, and I..." she paused, flustered. "I just really need to be going!"

Rikku quickly apologized to Gippal's father as she stood up and excused herself from the table. She turned around to face Gippal who was looking at her curiously, and she attempted to get past his blockade.

"Where do you think you're going, Kku-Ri?" he said, enjoying watching her attempt to duck around him. She stood before him, her face completely pink and nervously flustered.

_Nervous?_ Gippal wondered at this last thought as Rikku managed to side-step around him and rush to the door.

"Thank you again!" she cried to the old man as she stumbled out the door and into the busy Luca marketplace. She took a few steps and then stopped, trying to organize her thoughts. Why had she just run out of the house like that? As soon as she had heard Gippal's mocking voice again, she just felt like she had to get away.

The door opened behind her, and Gippal stepped out. She whirled around as he walked up to her, his face no longer smiling.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked. She thought he sounded genuinely concerned. "You alright? You just sort of took off..."

"Y, yeah... I'm, um, sorry about that. Will you tell you father for me? He's so nice, and..."

"Then what's the matter?" He looked at her seriously and she averted his gaze.

_Ixion, she's acting like she's afraid of me_, he thought to himself.

"My dad's ship!" she started with renewed anxiety. "He's gonna yell at me for an hour straight for being out all night! I've got to get back before he leaves without me!" She never really considered if her father would leave without her, but she couldn't think of another excuse to get away. She knew it was illogical, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy in his presence.

Rikku started off into the crowd without really knowing which direction she was going, but Gippal caught up with her again. He grabbed her wrist and turned her around to face him. He no longer looked as concerned as he did annoyed.

"Dammit, Rikku, just hold on a second." She stood rooted to the spot as she looked up at him, more nervous than ever.

"First of all," he breathed, "you forgot your shoes." He held out the pair that he had been holding and she had never noticed. She quickly took them from him and bent down to put them on before he could see another blush creep up on her face.

"Secondly..." he paused as he watched her hurriedly pull on her shoes. The huge grey material of his sweatshirt pooled around her as she crouched on the ground. His hard features softened a little.

"Why are you running off like this? You know that your father would never leave you behind."

"I just told him that I'd be back right after I found you, and- oh!" Rikku suddenly remembered the mission that had gotten her into all this trouble to begin with. She pulled up the hem of the sweatshirt to reach into her skirt pocket for the papers and realized that she was still wearing his shirt. She resisted another blush as she pulled it off and handed it to him, along with the papers.

Gippal just looked at her for a few moments as she stood before him, seemingly diminished and shivering a little without the bulk of the shirt to protect her. She was looking at him with the nervousness that was in her eyes and tugging down the corners of her usually smiling lips.

_The nervousness that _I_ caused_, he thought sourly, remembering the terror in her eyes after he nearly killed her attackers.

He grimly reached for the articles she held out for him, throwing the shirt over one arm and folding the papers with his other hand. He didn't take his eyes from her as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. He glanced down at the paper as he scrawled his name on the spot that he had signed a hundred times before. He held out the papers to her again.

"Happy digging," he said without a smile.

Rikku slowly took them from him, unsure of what to say next. He just watched her, a sort of fierce sadness in his eyes and his mouth a grim line.

"Thanks..." she said in a near whisper, and then she was gone.

**

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**

**A/N**: I'm sorry this chapter was so short, but I got so many reviews saying "WRITE MORE SOON!" that I just had to comply. ;) I wonder if Rikku is being too much of a baby in this one (she kinda reminds me of Sailor Moon in this chapter)... Let me know if it's too much out of character...?

Next chapter is some real insight, so even if you think she's out, I'll try to explain it all next time.

**-P**

**

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Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	6. A Little Insight

**A/N:** This chapter (and Cid) is dedicated to **Teef**-- you are so awesome and motivating. :) Also, a **HUGE THANK YOU** to** all** my reviewers! This chapter would not have been written if not for your support. It's been a long time since I actually had such thoughtful, encouraging reviews. I'm also so honored to be on your "Author Alert Watch Lists!" That makes me feel so special and loved. You all rock! ;)

Also, I love this chapter. I made it nice and long for those of you who endured the wait. See, good things do come with time!

Thank you for reading, and enjoy chapter six of _Cid's Little Girl_!

-**P**

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Chapter 6

A Little Insight

* * *

Anje paced back and forth in front of the old inn, arms crossed and a scowl deepening on her face, making her look much less pretty than usual. She had just stormed out of the building after screaming at the old innkeeper, demanding to see Gippal. When he had just run out on her yesterday at the café, she'd had to chase after his relatives for information. The old man seemed bewildered after her interrogation, saying that Gippal had run after his girlfriend.

Anje abruptly stopped pacing and stamped her high-heeled foot, fists clenching. "Damn him! I didn't know he had a girlfriend! Probably that clumsy little Al Bhed slut..." she snarled to herself, remembering the little waif who had tripped all over the apples the other day.

The midday sun was starting to bear down on Spira with full strength, and Anje's leather business suit was beginning to feel like shrink wrap on her skin.

_This was supposed to have been an easy job_, she repeated to herself irritably. _Just get in, seduce the moronic Al Bhed, and murder him in his sleep._

It really was a pity that he had to be so good-looking, just to be killed later, reflected Anje off-handedly. But it was what the Temple wanted, and as their top assassin, Anje would stop at nothing to find her mark.

_Oh well_, she shrugged. _At least getting him into bed won't be such a loss._

But it was already becoming a chore. Was he beginning to figure it out? He had attacked her back-up team disguised as the café bouncers and then escaped. After he ran off, Anje had to pull some serious strings to keep it quiet with the Lucan law enforcement and pay off the café owner to keep a tight lip about the disturbance.

_Maybe he's not just a dumb blonde after all_, Anje mused to herself. It had been a long time since she'd been promised such a challenge. She licked her dry lips. She preferred to take her prey down after a satisfying chase. Even so, she must continue with caution. If he did suspect something, now was not the time for her to drop the charade.

She was just about to renew her efforts to scour the town for him when she spied him a little way down the street, scowling at the ground as he walked in her direction with his fists in his pockets. Anje smiled. He looked fresh from a break-up. Time to move in.

"Gippal!" she trotted up to him as quickly as her high heels would allow. She put on a pouty face when he didn't even look up to acknowledge her. He kept walking.

"Gippy! What's the matter with you? First you leave me at the café, then you're gone all night- I just don't know what to do!" She pushed out her bottom lip and stood with her hands on her hips. Still no response.

_All right_, Anje's predatorial mind started clicking. _Time to play a little hard ball._

"Gippal," she started seriously, dropping all pretense of the simpering girlfriend act. "If you give a damn about your precious faction's future, you had better start working with me!"

Gippal stopped and rubbed his face with his hand, but did not turn around to face her.

"Go to hell, Anje," he said tiredly.

Anje narrowed her perfectly lined eyes. Forget hardball. She was going to hit him where it hurt.

"They told me that you were the one who nearly killed those bouncers last night," she said coyly, walking slowly up behind him. "Then you ran off with_ that_ girl. Who is she, Gippal?" She paused for effect. Gippal had not moved, apparently he was listening.

"You didn't want anything to... _happen_ to her, did you?"

Anje barely had time to smirk before Gippal had spun around and grabbed her shoulders. Anje almost felt a prick of fear as he glared menacingly down at her, his breath hot and angry.

"Don't you even try to threaten me," he spoke evenly as fire burned in his eyes.

"I don't give a damn about that whore-house temple of yours, or your fucking 'negotiations.'" He continued, squeezing her shoulders painfully. Anje resisted crying out. She just glared back, refusing to be intimidated by her prey.

"Just crawl back into that dark little snake hole of yours and leave me the fuck alone," he finished bitterly.

He stared down at her for a moment longer, as if daring her to challenge his threat. When he got no response from those cold, dark eyes, he released her roughly, and Anje had to take a step backward to keep her balance.

Gippal turned to walk away, and Anje slowly regained control of herself. She had never been spoken to like that before in her life. She was always the one in control, and he had gone too far. Her gaze narrowed as anger slowly seethed through her veins like searing venom.

"The negotiations are over," he said again, walking away.

Anje crossed her arms and watched him walk away, the need for bitter revenge steadily rising within her. This was not over. She _would _complete her mission, and she _would_ be the last one laughing.

_Never cross a woman scorned, my dearest Gippal_, thought Anje as she turned on her heel and strode away.

* * *

Rikku slowed her quickened pace as she entered the busy, circular docks of Luca. She had forgotten which dock the sub was in, so she had to dodge sailors carrying cargo and trod over irritable passenger's feet as she wandered around the port.

_Oh Dad and his darn sub_, she thought absently. Her eyes were vacantly staring over the crowd but not really seeing anything. She was distracted.

She wrung her hands nervously- no doubt she must have looked lost enough- but no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on her task, her mind kept wandering.

_Dammit Gippal!_ She thought for the hundredth time, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. She couldn't stop thinking about how she had left him standing in the plaza; she had just walked away, but she knew that he was still standing in that same spot, watching her go. She felt that something was missing, that she should have said something more, or lightened the mood or something. She didn't like the idea of just walking away from him, unsure of when she would ever see him again.

Rikku attempted to shake the fresh memory from her mind again as she side-stepped out of the way of a swinging crane carrying another load of cargo.

_I just kept walking_, she thought to herself for the one-hundred and first time. She had not even dared for a backward glance, because she knew that just one more look at his face and she wouldn't have been able to move.

"Ixion, I'm an idiot," she muttered to herself again._ I never even thanked him for saving my life..._

Rikkue stopped and rubbed her face with her hands._ It's in the past now, I bet he doesn't even care..._

"Hey Rikku!"

Rikku's head snapped up. She saw Cid's submarine, and standing on the deck was none other than fellow Gullwing Paine, flashing Rikku a rare smile and waving her over.

Rikku was instantly cheered as her face broke into a big grin and she dashed up the planks to meet her friend.

"Paine!" she panted after her sprint. "What are you doing here?"

"Just got of the _Liki_ from Besaid and now I'm catching a ride from your old man," Paine said with a nod at the docks. Rikku looked behind her to see Cid shouting orders at his crew as they tripped over each other carrying crates and machinery.

Suppressing a giggle, Rikku turned back to Paine to find the older woman staring seriously at her. Rikku gulped. Whenever Paine looked at someone like that, she had a bone to pick, and it was never very pretty.

"And what are _you_ doing here, if I may ask?" Paine said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Same as you!" the younger girl said quickly. _Rikku's smiling that guilty "I'm-not-happy-but-I'll-pretend-to-be" smile again_, Paine thought with a roll of her eyes. _This isn't going to be pretty._

Rikku saw this and instantly knew she had been found out. She tried to change the subject quickly, but Paine interrupted her.

"What's the matter this time, Rikku," Paine said with her trademark hint of annoyance in her voice. She had used it to express her concern for her fellow Gullwings while they were traveling together, making it sound like she didn't really care when she did. It was her typical defense mechanism.

"N, nothing's the matter!" Rikku tried to smile that reassuring smile again. It did not reassure Paine.

"Rikku..." Paine started but did not finish as she was cut off with the sudden sounding of the diving sirens as the sub motors shook to life beneath them. The crew was scurrying on board, shutting the hatches before they submerged.

"Let's talk inside," Paine finished, and the two girls went below decks as the sub left the port.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Rikku was sprawled over her bed and Paine was leaning against the wall of Rikku's bedroom, arms crossed over her chest as she listened to Rikku recount her adventure in Luca. Rikku knew from experience that it was absolutely useless to try and hide anything from Paine, so she told her everything- from the Red Leather Dominatrix to the fight at the café (Rikku could not suppress a shudder as she told this part, and Paine made note of it), to waking up in Gippal's father's house.

When she thought she had faithfully recounted everything, Rikku sat up on the edge of her bed and waited for Paine to say something. Paine was studying the floor critically and did not make any indication that she had even heard Rikku stop talking.

Rikku hated silence like this, but she wasn't fool enough to ask Paine anything while she was so deep in thought, so she settled for kicking her feet off the end of her bed and letting them thud against the bedstead. She did this about three times before Paine snapped.

"Will you cut that out, Rikku?" Paine didn't lift her eyes from the floor but she narrowed them in annoyance. Rikku obediently drew her feet underneath her bottom and sat with her lips pursed tightly between her teeth, trying not to make a sound. After an eternity, she started rocking back and forth as she sat cross-legged, and didn't even know that she was humming through her nose until Paine sighed, exasperated, and told her to "Quit it."

"Awww, Paine!" whined Rikku, finally giving in to her inner three year-old. "I'm bored! What are you thinking about?"

"It's like this..." Paine started again with a sigh. She hated explaining things, especially to Rikku and her five-second attention span.

"Gippal... is not a nice guy. He was a soldier in the Crimson Squad with me, and unlike you, I'm pretty familiar with that crazy glint in his eye." Paine looked at Rikku where she sat on the edge of her bed, silent as stone and all attention. Paine went on.

"I can understand how you were a little scared- Gippal jokes around so much that you wouldn't think he had a serious thought in his head- but people aren't one-dimensional like that. You have to accept that everyone has a dark side, and I think that the harder they try to hide it, the worse it is."

Rikku winced a bit, recalling how she had been more than a little scared of Gippal, but it just didn't feel right being afraid of someone who she had known almost her whole life and who had always made her happy to be around. Sure, they teased each other constantly, but they were always smiling.

A part of her only wanted to remember him like that forever and to just pretend like Gippal wasn't a battle-hardened killer who had ever stopped smiling. She knew that was a little selfish, refusing to see the other sides of him, but she couldn't help it. He _wasn't_ that bad, was he?

Paine watched the inner struggle on Rikku's face. She knew that forcing Rikku to accept the hard reality of things wasn't very kind- it might not hurt to just let her blithely trip through the daisy fields of that other planet that she seemed to be living on, but Paine felt that it was her duty as her friend to look out for her.

_She doesn't even realize how deep her own feelings for him are_, Paine thought mildly. Here she is, already confused on where she stands with him, and then she comes to realize that he's not even who she thought he was to begin with.

Paine decided right there that if keeping Rikku's heart from being broken meant that she had to keep her away from Gippal, then so be it.

"Listen Rikku," Paine said aloud, taking charge again. "I don't think you should get too involved with him. Besides his bad temper, he's notoriously bad with women."

Paine took a deep breath. If she was going to do it, she might as well go all the way. She looked coldly at Rikku as the younger girl stared up at her from her perch on the bed, her eyes wide and her arms wrapped protectively around her. Paine almost softened at the look of utter vulnerability in Rikku's small frame, but that was exactly why she had to finish this. There was no way she was going to let Gippal take advantage of someone so innocent.

"Not only does he think he's some kind of sex fiend," Paine went on coldly, "but he has some issues with addiction. He's about as careless with his women as he is with his alcohol."

"That's not true!" Rikku suddenly shouted, springing up from the bed. Paine was taken aback for a moment at Rikku's sudden change in temperament- she had just gone from confused to impassioned in the time it took for Paine to denounce Gippal. But she had expected this.

"And anyway, why are you being so hard on him?" Rikku felt almost betrayed as she listened to one of her best friends belittle another friend so harshly. If it was true that he had a dark past, then why was Paine rubbing it in so hard?

"Because you need to know, Rikku," Paine said impatiently. It was true that Paine might not have known Gippal for very long (actually, she knew almost nothing about what he had been doing for the past two years since they were all separated), but what she did know, she felt that she had to spare no smoothing or detailing.

"The cold, hard truth is always the hardest to take, but in the end, it's the only thing you can rely on."

She watched Rikku's anger ebb away as the younger girl seemed to deflate, sinking back to the end of her bed in defeat. Paine softened a little and surprised them both by sitting next to Rikku on the bed and giving her a one-armed hug.

"At least once you've hit the bottom, you'll know that it can't get any worse."

Rikku looked up at Paine with tears in her eyes, but she managed a smile.

"You're right, as always," Rikku sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands. She had been so foolish, so naive. If she had just taken Gippal for what he was to begin with, she wouldn't be so disappointed now.

"I'm stupid. I guess I just thought that I could pretend he was Goofy Gippal forever..." She sighed deeply and laid her head on Paine's shoulder. For a moment, Paine felt a stab of guilt for disillusioning Rikku so roughly. It wasn't exactly fair to Gippal, either- having the very worst of his character shed in such harsh, unforgiving light, but she reminded herself that it was for the best.

_Like a Band-Aid_, Paine sighed to herself. Rather a quick sting than a long, painful separation...

Paine stood up and took Rikku's hands in her own. Rikku's eyes were still red, but the next thing to do was to get her mind off of this as quickly as it had taken to put her on to it.

"Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm craving hot chocolate like a pregnant woman in August," Paine said with a genuine smile.

Rikku choked on a laugh. "Oh my Fayth, you aren't really pregnant, are you?"

"Hell no, but this was depressing as fuck and now I need some chocolate."

Rikku grinned as she stood up to follow Paine to the sub's cafeteria.

* * *

Cid paced the bridge, deep lines of thought furrowing his wide brow. He'd seen Rikku board the sub, but he hadn't seen her since. He was anxious to find out whether or not his plan had worked.

True, it was rather manipulative of him, but who knew what was best for his daughter if not her own father? Cid resisted the urge to rub his hands together in delight. His plan to keep Gippal in Luca by sabotaging his hoover had worked perfectly, as Blappa had informed him.

_It's good to be the leader sometimes_, Cid thought as he congratulated his genius once again. Gippal had contacted him this morning to tell him that Rikku had spent the night safely at Errik's house and that he was going to give her the okay to work in the Sanubia Desert. Everything was going according to plan...

Cid's thoughts were interrupted as the sub jostled a little and a young pilot-in-training started to have a panic attack.

"Dammit, lackey!" Cid shouted as he slapped the young man on the back. "You go _around_ the goddamned coral reefs, not straight through them! What are you tryin' to do, wreck the submarine!"

The pilot was still shaking from the near-collision, and Cid "hmphed" importantly as he pushed the man out of the pilot's seat and took up the navigation.

"Kids these days..." he muttered to himself as he squinted at the flashing dots of lights on the screen in front of him. He looked down at the control panel at rows and rows of identical-looking buttons and got a little dizzy.

"Aw hell, get Rikku down here," he said gruffly as he started fiddling with some switches, trying to make it look like there was a problem other than the fact that he didn't know what he was doing.

"The damned... uh, hydrothermal electrical... uh, coordinator is all messed up, and..." Cid put on his best imposing commander tone to save himself from looking as lost as he was. "Just get her down here, will you?"

The trembling pilot scurried away on all fours to search for Rikku, and Cid leaned back in the chair with is arms behind his head. Yep, he needed a cigar.

Reaching into his pocket, he felt vaguely guilty about how much Rikku chided him about smoking, and about how she would pull it out of his mouth as soon as she got there, but at least he could chomp on it until then.

Thinking of Rikku again, he allowed himself another congratulatory grin. Gippal really was just the man for his daughter- a smart, proud Al Bhed man who hadn't failed him yet, and even if he and Rikku were both too stubborn to admit it, they were perfect for each other. Cid didn't mind being the one to get the ball rolling, after all, what was a father for?

Getting her to work on Bikanel was just the start. They'd be away from each other long enough to miss each other, but they'd have to meet again during one of the inspections. Their marriage would be almost as unifying as Cid's own arranged betrothal to Rikku's mother, which had brought all the Al Bhed who had been scattered around Spira to Bikanel.

While Cid knew that he could sooner control Sinspawn as he could his daughter in marriage, he knew that just a little provoking would be good enough. He figured they were crazy about each other anyway, the way that they flirted all the time. He'd seen them together more than once- and dancing together at the wedding was no exception- laughing and doing that silly puppy-love stuff that kids did these days...

_But if that young peacock does anything to my hurt daughter, I'm gonna..._

"Dad! What did I tell you about smoking in the sub! We don't want to choke on your second-hand smoke, not to mention what you're doing to your own lungs!" came Rikku's sharp rebuke from behind him as she entered the bridge. Cid guiltily smothered the cigar but tried to remain in control in front of his crew.

"Rikku, dagnabbit! Git over here and fix this Ixion-cursed contraption! Ya said ya fixed the first time and now it's gone and froze all up! Girl, don't you know..."

Cid continued on his tirade as Rikku sighed and flipped a few switches, setting them on course again. Cid watched his daughter proudly, certain that he had done the right thing.

_She deserves only the best, and I'll be damned if I don't make sure that she gets it_, Cid thought.

* * *

Gippal swore under his breath for the hundredth time. Fayth damned, this was a bad day.

He sat down on the curb where Anje had left him and pulled out a cigarette. He'd been trying to quit, but he only smoked when he was too pissed off to resist. That seemed to be happening a lot, lately.

_Why the hell am I so pissed off, anyway? _He lit the end of the cigarette and took a long drag. He could just imagine the tar sticking to the insides of his lungs, but all that mattered was the soothing calm of the nicotine and how it kept him from kicking his foot through a wall.

So he had just doomed the Machine Faction and Bevelle was going to repossess Djose. He had just let Cid down and he had probably just set back the funding for Home about fifteen years with how much money they were going to lose. The Al Bhed were once again proved to be powerless against the influence of the temple, and he was probably never going to work again. Dammit.

Gippal rubbed his face hard, trying to work some feeling back into his blood-drained face. Maybe this wasn't all doomed to failure, maybe he could still set something right. Gippal thought hard, examining his situation with the smooth calculation that he was used to, refusing to let his emotions cloud his thoughts.

He was going to have to tell Cid eventually. That was going to hurt– probably both his pride and his body. When Cid found out how he had just thrown all Al Bhed hope out the window for one chance to tell that plastic-wrapped bitch off, he was going to bust Gippal's face worse than he himself had done to those bouncers.

_That was a huge mistake right there_, he thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the throbbing pain in his head from the nicotine rush. If he hadn't lost his temper right there, he wouldn't have pissed off Anje and he might have been able to win her over and save himself from this whole mess.

_But then Rikku had to show up, well-timed for once, I might add_, Gippal thought to himself sarcastically. He had nearly killed those two bastards for her.

_No_, he thought, burying his face in his hands again. _This is stupid, it's not her fault. It's not her fault that they attacked her and it's not her fault that I tried to defend her. But Ixion, how that backfired..._

Rather than being grateful to him, she had been terrified of him. He supposed that he'd be lucky if she ever looked at him without a shudder again. He remembered the way she wouldn't even look him in the eye.

Frustrated, Gippal stood up and threw his cigarette to the ground. Whatever. Rikku wasn't the main problem here. First things first, he had to contact Cid. If he could head off this thing early enough, he might be able to spare them of the full extent of Anje's fury. He began walking back to his father's house to see if he could find a telesphere.

* * *

Gippal entered the old inn several hours after he had left it, and the old man who had been waiting for him jumped up in anticipation.

"Gippal! Where in sam hell have you been?" said his father, worried. "Some mad woman rushed in here looking for you, and I told her-"

"I know Dad, I took care of it," Gippal said tiredly. He did not want to have to explain everything twice. It was bad enough that he would have to tell Cid without letting his father down, too.

"Well what's going on, then? And where'd that little blonde girl run off to?"

"Do you have a telesphere up here, Dad?" Gippal called wearily as he trudged up the stairs, not waiting for a reply. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he did know that he didn't want to be downstairs with his father answering painful questions.

"A telly-what?" asked his father, more confused than ever.

* * *

Gippal stopped in the doorway of his old bedroom and looked around. The window was open and the shear curtains were fluttering around the tiny, disheveled bed that he had laid Rikku on the night before. He remembered checking up on her before he had gone out that morning to tell Cid that she was alright. She had been shivering and he saw the loose strap on her shoulder that had been snapped during the fight.

He had pulled an old sweatshirt of his out of a slightly dusty dresser and laid it on the foot of the bed for her to wear when she woke up. He'd watched her for a few moments longer, remembering how he'd comforted her in the dark alley that night. He'd held her, trying to soothe the distress that he had caused. He'd never felt so guilty in his life for making her cry like that.

He remembered the way she had smelled, something like apples that was probably her shampoo. It was a smell so foreign to the grease and motor oil and dry desert sands that he was used to. He walked over to the bed and sat down, wondering for a brief second if the pillow still smelled like her hair.

Gippal shook the moronic thought from his head. _Ixion, I am really losing it_, he thought as he rubbed his face again. But in his defense, he was tired. He hadn't slept all that night, even though he was laying on a bed in one of the guest rooms. He couldn't stop thinking about how angry he had been, how out of control. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn't been there to save her, or worse- if it even would have happened in the first place if he _hadn't_ been there.

Frustrated, Gippal lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The Telesphere could wait awhile- he couldn't screw things up any worse by now, anyway.

He lay there for a little while, trying not to think of anything in particular. He rolled over on his side and stared a the shelves of long-forgotten toys from his childhood. The mid-day sunlight filtering through the window bounced off of something on one of the shelves, making it glimmer as it caught his eye.

_What the hell is that_, Gippal wondered, suddenly intrigued. His mind was grateful for anything to distract him from constantly dwelling over the subject of his doom.

He rose from the bed and walked over to the dusty little shelf. Upon closer inspection, he found the glittering object to be a rusty metal compass. It looked like just another cast-off children's toy that he might have found laying in the street somewhere, but it sort of reminded him of something...

He looked closer at it and turned it over in his hand. It was broken- the needle had rusted in place and the glass face was cracked. He wondered why he had ever kept such a thing.

As he was turning it over in his hand, he found an inscription etched on the back of the brass plating. Squinting as he scratched off dirt and rust to read it better, Gippal saw that it was written in Al Bhed:

"_Veht Ouin Fyo..._"

"'Find your way?'" Gippal read aloud. Suddenly, he remembered the first time he had seen this seemingly worthless trinket. He had been ten years old and his father had taken him to Bikanel Island to see Home for the first time. His father had been friends with Cid, and he had gone there for some reason to see him.

Gippal had been bored out of his mind as he wandered alone through what was one of the ugliest Homes he had ever seen- dirt and sand and metal everywhere. It probably wasn't until years later after Home was destroyed that he began to see how beautiful it had really been.

But back to when he was wandering around as a naive little ten year old, he'd gotten hopelessly lost. Even back then, however, he would have refused to admit it, so he kept going. He walked until he thought he heard the sound of running water. It was so out of place in the middle of this maze of sand and metal that he had followed the sound.

It led him to a new room- huge and so completely different from the rest of the compound that he'd had to shake his head to make sure he wasn't seeing a mirage. It was an indoor garden- a tropical paradise of waterfalls, lush, green trees, and exotic flowers. The ceiling was a glass dome and he could see birds flying high up. It had made him feel as though he had just stepped into another dimension where the harsh desert was far behind him.

He had walked over to where the water was still and peered down. He could see fish swimming beneath the surface. Green algae had started to grow on the bottom of the pool, but he could still see where the iron had been welded together to hold the water, reminding him that he was in an artificial paradise.

While he was bent over the water, he heard another sound- someone was crying nearby. He was curious and followed this new sound to a small copse of trees where a little girl in a pink, torn dress was huddled on the rocks, crying.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the prospect of having to take care of a crying little girl, Gippal had just decided to turn around and head back when the girl suddenly looked up and saw him. He saw that she had been crying for a long time, her eyes were very red and puffy, and her face was streaked with tears.

Gippal stood there, awkwardly, unsure of what he should do when she held her little arms out to him and hiccupped again.

When he didn't take her up in his arms like she beckoned for him to do, she started crying again. Desperate to make her stop, Gippal knelt down in front of her and gave her a hug.

"What's the matter, huh? Are you okay?" he asked in Al Bhed.

The little girl sniffled and looked up at him. She couldn't have been more than four years old, and Gippal hoped that she could understand him. He didn't have much experience with such small children, and they made him a little nervous because he didn't know what to do.

After what felt like an eternity, Gippal had almost given up hope for communication when the girl spoke.

"Where's Mommy?" she asked in Al Bhed.

"Uh, I don't know..." he replied, looking around. There didn't seem to be anyone nearby.

"I'm actually kind of lost myself," he admitted.

"Lost?" she had asked, squinting up at him. "What's your name?"

"Gippal."

"That's a weird name. I've never seen you before. Are you going to live here with me?"

"Uh..."

"I ran away. I'm going to live here forever. You can stay here with me!" Apparently over her crying fit, the little girl smiled as she said this all very matter-of-factly.

"Um, I don't think we could live here for very long," Gippal had said, trying not to make her cry again. "Won't your mom and dad start looking for you?"

If he had been aiming to keep her from crying again, he had missed the mark horribly. Almost as soon as finished his sentence, her eyes welled up with tears again and she ran off through a bed of flowers.

Groaning, Gippal chased after her, feeling guilty and hoping that she wasn't going to fall into a pool of water or something. He hated babysitting.

Finally he found her, sprawled over a bed of flowers and bawling her eyes out. He didn't know what it was with little kids, but maybe they all cried this much. He sat down beside her and decided to wait it out. He wasn't even sure why he had tried to comfort her, but he couldn't help but feel like he had to look out for her.

The sun had begun to set, and Gippal could see the dark quickly begin to set in the desert sky through the glass ceiling. The girl was still sniffling, and Gippal was getting a little impatient.

"Why don't we go back, now, uh... what's your name again?"

"M, Mommy told me to never t, tell st, strangers my name," she hiccupped as she sat up and wiped her eyes.

"I'm not a stranger," he said irritably. "I told you my name was Gippal, remember? The 'weird' name?"

The little girl smiled as she sniffled. "My name's Rikku."

"Rikku, you wanna go back home now?"

"We _are_ Home, Gippy!" Rikku laughed. "Don't you know anything?"

"Well, you might be home, but I live a long ways away. I can't stay here forever," he motioned to the room around them. It was dark now, and the stars were visible above them.

"Why not?"

"Because... because my dad will be looking for me, and so will yours," he said, trying to take charge of the situation.

"But I ran away," Rikku said a little sadly. "They can never find me."

"Well, you can find them, can't you?" Gippal said as he stood up. If she lived here, then she must know her way around.

"Oh!" she suddenly shouted. Gippal looked down at her as she reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the rusty compass.

"We can find our way with this!" she said happily, holding it out to him. Gippal took it from her and glanced at it. He could see that it was broken and useless, so he handed it back.

"No way. That thing's broken!" he said impatiently.

"No it's not!" Rikku huffed indignantly. "Mommy gave it to me and told me that as long as I had it, she would always be with me, and..."

Gippal warily watched the little girl as her voice quavered and he dreaded another crying fit. Rikku just shook her head determinedly and stamped her foot.

"Come on! I'll show you!"

She charged off through the forest again, and Gippal had no choice but to follow her. It was dark in the room, but he could hear her crashing around ahead of him. Every once in a while she stopped and he caught up to her while she insisted on consulting the compass before striking off again.

"This way!"

Finally, he began to see the fluorescent lighting of the entrance to the indoor garden. Things began to look familiar as he and Rikku raced through the hallways to wherever Rikku was headed.

She took him all the way back to the entrance of Home, where they stood panting.

"T, told you, it would... work," Rikku said between breaths.

Gippal heard some distant shouting, and he looked around to see some Al Bhed men running toward them. One of them was his father.

"Yeah, it looks like they found us, Rikku. I hope you're ready to go back home."

"Gippy, I already told you-"

"Miss Rikku! We've been looking all over for you!" one of the men shouted as they closed in on them.

"Gippal, where have you been, boy?" asked his father with the usual twinkle in his eyes.

"Uh, we just got a little lost..." Gippal tried to explain.

"Miss Rikku, your father is very worried about you," another Al Bhed man said, scooping her up in his arms. "He wants you to come home right away."

"No! Put me down!" Rikku yelled, kicking her legs. The man almost dropped her as she climbed back down to the ground. She indignantly tried to straighten her dress but it was so disheveled that the result was comical.

Gippal tried not to laugh as she stood in front of him, holding out the compass.

"Gippy, hold on to this, okay?" she said as she pressed it into his hands. He was surprised and tried to object, but she didn't let him finish.

"So you don't get lost again!"

And with that, she ran off back into Home, and the men sighed before chasing her again. Gippal's father had taken his hand and lead him back to the caravan that would take them to the ship and eventually back home to Luca.

Gippal had kept the compass in his pocket for a long time after that, and he remembered being teased about trying to use it when he went camping with his friends. He eventually forgot about it and left it to collect dust on the shelf with the rest of his childhood toys, and it was many years before he ever saw Cid's little girl again, as he later learned that she was.

Gippal stood with it in his hand again, now 14 years later. He had never noticed the inscription before, the one that Rikku's mother must have told her when she gave it to her.

He suddenly realized that that must have been the day that Rikku's mother had died. His father had taken him to Home for the funeral, but he had wandered off and missed it. A child of ten wouldn't have remembered the significance of the day, anyway, but years later, Gippal finally understood.

_She was crying for her mother, and I had no idea..._ Gippal thought to himself as he looked down at the broken compass.

"'Find your way,' Rikku," he murmured to himself. "I'll find mine."

He closed his hand around the compass and stashed it into his pants pocket as he headed back down the stairs without another look back..

* * *

**A/N:** Whee for plot devices!

**Telesphere**- Well, I made that one up, but I figured that during Spira's "progression" in the new Calm, they'd have to figure out some way to communicate, kind of like Shinra's network.

As for the **compass**, that was actually a major re-write. It used to be a statue of an "angel," but then I remembered that the Al Bhed aren't religious, so that had to go. See, I'm looking out for the canon! ;)

I know I took my time in getting this one out (now instead of school I work two jobs), but I hope that it's worth it- all the insight you could wish for! ;) It's also kind of the end of the beginning. The next chapter is set several months later, and while these first six chapters were rather light-hearted and flirty, I was thinking of getting more serious (with the story line and with Rikku and Gippal's sooner-or-later romance).

I'm just a little bit wary of how serious (as I mentioned before, the last thing I want to do is to make this story tasteless and un-fun) it's going to be, but I promise I'll keep you posted before I do anything unforgivable. ;)

**-P**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	7. A Little Different

**The Story So Far:**

Anje is sent from the Bevelle temple to kill Gippal and weaken the Al Bhed influence. She arrives as an envoy to discuss property disputes (a ploy), planning to seduce Gippal and kill him. Gippal doesn't realize the killing part, but he plays along so that he can "persuade" Anje to leave the faction alone. He finally gets pissed at her and decides against it, but she doesn't give up.

Unfortunately, in scorning Anje, he has doomed the Machine Faction. He thinks that Bevelle will certainly retaliate and reclaim the temple and shut down operations, but Anje and the temple's revenge will be much more deadly than he realizes...

Meanwhile, Cid is trying to get Rikku and Gippal together. He rigged the hoover to break down so that Gippal would be lagged in Luca long enough for him to get Rikku there. Then he made Rikku work for Gippal in the desert, but things aren't going quite so according to his plan. The union would be good for Al Bhed unity, but he also just really wants his little girl to be happy.

But Paine is trying to keep them apart! Paine is concerned for Rikku- she doesn't want to see her get burned by Gippal's chronic carelessness with women. She doesn't think that Rikku knows the real Gippal, who she believes to be a cold-hearted soldier from his days in the Crimson Squad.

As for the couple themselves, they both have always considered the other to be "just a friend," teasing each other and having fun. But as friendships are tried and true personalities are revealed, Rikku may find that there is more to Gippal than the goofy best friend, and he may finally see that Rikku's not just a "little girl" anymore.

**The Story Continues...**

**-P**

* * *

Chapter 7  
A Little Different

* * *

Rikku irritably pulled her goggles off of her head and wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand. 

"Miles!" she shouted into the wind at the little man controlling the crane. "I said pull that driller _out_ of that sand pit! We'll never find it in the morning under all the sand coming in with this storm!"

Rikku shook her head disbelievingly and yanked the goggles back over her eyes again as she finished welding the handle back on the sand pump. She was anxious to finish the job before the sand storm hit them full force. Whirlwinds were already throwing sand like little machine gun pellets, stinging her raw skin and twisting her already wind-blown hair.

As soon as she finished, she waved to her crew members and the five of them rushed around the camp, pulling tarps over the equipment before they ran into the anchored tent. The wind was howling around them as the sand storm blew full-force, and Rikku hoped that another day wouldn't be wasted trying to unearth all the equipment again.

_Especially with that inspection tomorrow_, she thought to herself as she double-zipped the tent flap. She'd spent the past six months excavating in the Sanubia, and every three months there was a routine inspection by the managers on the island. Last time it was just Nhadala, and everything was pretty and quick, so she wasn't too worried.

"Hey Boss!" called Cast from over by the stove. "Want some coffee?"

Rikku wrinkled her nose at both at the suggestion and the title. She'd only had to arrive on the island before Nhadala slapped her on the back and put her in charge of a small group of workers in the Eastern Expanse. She wasn't sure if it was due to her previous work on the island with her fellow Gullwings or if it was a previous arrangement of her father's, but either way she would have rather earned the title on her own.

"Ugh! Are you kidding?" Rikku said with a grin at the young man by the small camp stove. "With the stuff you make, I'd be better off standing outside with my mouth open!"

He pulled a face and playfully stuck his tongue out at her. Cast was the youngest member of Rikku's team (actually, he was only a little younger than Rikku herself), confident in himself, if a little naive at times.

From the corner of the room, a tall, dark man raised his cup slightly, gesturing to the boy with the coffee. Lorenzon was a beefy, silent ex-Blizball player from Kilika. He was relatively new to the whole digging experience, but his Blitz-toned body probably did more work than the other four crew members combined.

The short man that Rikku had been yelling at about the drill came scurrying over to the stove with his mug outstretched, but he tripped over the rug and sprawled all over the floor. The rest of them laughed while Miles pulled himself up after another one of his spills, but Rikku giggled a little more privately because even after six months, all she could think of when she saw him was of how he looked exactly like Tobli. He had the beak and everything.

Rikku caught Hemi's eye and they started laughing again. Hemi was the only other girl on camp, and being only a bit older than Rikku herself, the two had quickly bonded. Hemi was more of a researcher than a digger, and she primarily studied the habitat and geology of the desert as they uncovered it.

Rikku sighed contentedly as she looked around the room at her crew. Even though she had to be the boss and order everyone around, they had all achieved a comfortable friendship. Even the quiet Lorenzon cracked a smile before handing Tobli, er, Miles another cup.

_Has it really been six months? _She wondered to herself as she sat down at the table next to Hemi. She was always so busy with the excavation and so exhausted afterward that she hardly had time to wonder where the day went. But she liked being busy- it kept her mind off of other things.

"You okay, Boss?" Hemi smiled teasingly as she poked Rikku in the back. Rikku jumped a little but returned the smile.

"Sure I'm fine!" she quipped. "There's a sandstorm out there carefully burying a whole day's work, and the inspection's tomorrow! What more could a girl ask for?" she said playfully.

"As if you care about that," the other woman said, still smiling. "I bet you were daydreaming about a cute guy, weren't you?"

"W, what?"

"Haha! So I was right!"

"What are you talking about, huh!" Rikku blushed. "Who would I have to daydream about, anyway?"

"You've got me there," Hemi sighed. "It's not like the pickings around here have much to offer..."

Rikku grinned devilishly. "Yeah right, you say that but we all know who _you're_ thinking about..."

"Shh!" Hemi shushed her frantically, blushing even worse than Rikku had. It was no secret to Rikku that Hemi had been eyeing Lorenzon ever since he'd joined the crew little over three weeks ago. The girls just giggled as the men rolled their eyes at them.

"Girls," Cast sighed as he grinned at them from over his coffee cup. "What are we ever going to do with them?"

"Sell them to the Shoopuf Caravan?" suggested Miles in his high, Tobli-esque voice.

"Hey!" Rikku said as she jumped up to ruffle Cast's blonde hair. "We all know that Cast doesn't care for us, but Miles, I'm surprised at you!"

Cast blushed pink and kissed her on the cheek. Even though he was only interested in other guys, Cast always blushed when the girls teased him.

"Oh, you know I love you," he told her, ruffling her hair in return.

"What about me?" Hemi pretend pouted.

"Sure," he replied with a wink. "Just as soon as you grow a dick."

"Cast!"

"Are you saying that I have a dick?" Rikku smiled with her hands on her hips.

"No, Honey, I'm just saying that you look like a guy..."

"Hey!"

"Now now, you three..." said Lorenzon's deep, gravelly voice from across the room with a hint of a smile on his face. "Don't make me get up and separate you."

They all laughed again before sitting down to a dinner of boiled bolt drake and a side of fried cactuar.

"Again," Rikku sighed as she picked up her fork.

"Hey, aren't cactuar, like, alive?" Miles said as he speared one on the edge of his knife.

"They're a developing nation," Hemi said with her mouthful of the green sprouts. Lorenzon looked skeptically at his plate.

"Mmph, don't worry," Cast said, swallowing. "They're just the off-shoots. No one will miss them."

"Like these stupid drake," Rikku said, stuffing the meat into her mouth. "Weef fough enouf uf hem wooking hiss mornig."

"Which is exactly why it's boiled bolt drake again!" Cast said happily as he shook his fork at her.

"Mmm," hummed Miles with his eyes closed. "What I wouldn't give for a Lucan pound cake right now..."

"You grew up in Luca, Miles?" Hemi asked.

"Right next to the stadium! In the plaza there was this fabulous bakery, with pies and rolls and this amazing pound cake..."

"Ooh, you're making me hungry!" Rikku whined.

"Nothing beats Kilikan Barbeque," added Lorenzon in his gravelly voice.

"Ooh!" squeaked Hemi, leaning closer to him. "Have you ever tried grilled lupine on the toasted seaweed buns?"

"Well, personally," Cast said, trying to get in on the conversation. "I've always had a taste for the flan."

Everyone stopped talking and stared at him.

"W, what?" he asked.

"'_Flan?_'" Hemi asked, looking at him as if he'd just announced that he was straight. "You mean those elementals they serve raw..."

"Mm, right after they've used the opposite element..." Cast said with a dreamy look in his eye. "The blazed ice ones are the best..."

"It's a _delicacy!_" Cast defended while a resounding "Eew! You're gross, Cast!" and "That's disgusting!" erupted around the table and everyone pushed away their plates.

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna need some of that coffee now," said Rikku as she stumbled over to the stove.

"I'm gonna go take a long bath," said Miles, looking nauseous.

"Oh no you don't!" said Hemi, jumping up and running in the direction of what they called the bathroom. The tents were all connected through zipping doors, and right now they were in the biggest one that they used as a mess hall.

"Last time you used all the hot water and didn't clean out the tub!"

"But you take for _hours!_" he complained.

"Too bad!" she called as she quickly unzipped the next room and ran in, quickly re-zipping it.

Cast sighed. "Oh well. I guess that means another night without a bath..."

"What are you complaining about?" grumbled Lorenzon as he unzipped a flap on the other end of the room. "I haven't bathed in over five days."

"Aw, that's sick, man!" Cast could be heard saying as he followed Lorenzon into the men's dormitory. Miles grudgingly waddled in after them and struggled with the zipper as he wasn't tall enough to zip it all the way.

"Urrgh!" he panted as Rikku smiled and walked over to help him.

"It's okay, I've got it from this end."

"Thanks, Boss!" he said as he pulled himself backward.

"I told you, don't call me that!" she scolded, but he had already slipped into the next room.

"Goodnight, guys!" she called as she finished zipping up the flap.

"'Night, Boss!" they called in unison. Rikku sighed as she sat back down at the table. Looking at all the dirty dishes still scattered about, she suddenly remembered that it was her night to do the washing.

Sighing again, she gathered up all the plates and scraped the remains into a bucket. She reached for another bucket full of water and started dipping in one dish after the other, wiping them off with a towel before leaving them to settle in yet another bucket.

_I really do miss indoor plumbing_, she thought wistfully as she rubbed the plates clean again. She remembered that when they had camped out during Yuna's Pilgrimage, Lulu had just cast a water spell over the dishes and blasted them clean.

Rikku smiled at the memory. She had her Black Mage Dressphere, but she couldn't cast a spell indoors. She could just imagine the look on Lu's face if she saw her using a Waterga spell for a coffee cup.

_I wonder how everyone's doing back on Besaid_, she thought to herself. Yuna and Tidus had decided to settle down there along with Wakka and Lulu. She'd gotten as much mail from them as the shaky delivery service in the desert would allow, but she could just piece a picture together from what she did get. Vidina, now around nine or ten months old, could say a whole slew of nonsense words, along with his parents names and even Yuna's. She could bet that he was still having trouble with "Tidus." Yuna wasn't pregnant yet, but Rikku was sure from her lovey-dovey letters that _that_ situation would be quickly remedied in the near future.

Rikku grinned to herself. Sometimes, she really envied the happiness and love that practically emanated from the happy couple. The way they looked at each other and left the rest of the world behind...

Rikku sighed. For her, the only thing she went to bed with at night was sand under her fingernails and the utter exhaustion of another day toiling in the desert. She had only been able to send out a minimal amount of mail herself, being so busy.

"_Sorry guys, I'm just so busy out here- you know, work work work!_"

She frowned as she thought of the last letter she'd sent to Besaid. She knew it wasn't a good enough excuse, but what could she do? She really _was_ busy. Her crew was specifically assigned to sites of ancient machina beds, and the process of unearthing it with all the shifting sands while keeping the thing in-tact was time consuming. Being in charge also meant a lot of paper work, which, she suddenly reminded herself, had to be turned in to the inspector tomorrow.

She quickly finished up the dishes and passed by the bathroom, where she could hear Hemi singing loudly and off-key. She entered the room that the two of them shared and reached under her cot for the folio of reports that she had written. They were currently excavating a very large machina with many detailed parts, and from the armaments that she had seen so far, it appeared to be a very large weapon.

Rikku shuddered as she remembered another very large machina weapon that had been found underground. It wasn't uncommon to find weapons buried in the sand here, as it was rumored to be one of the battle sites of the war one thousand years ago that had left the island nearly barren, but she still didn't like the sight of them. It unnerved her even more to know that they were shipped off to be repaired at Djose temple for whatever purpose...

She paused at the thought of Djose and the research there. She had tried very hard not to think of Gippal since Paine had told her to forget about him, but she'd had troubles in the beginning. During her first few months back in the desert, she couldn't help but dream about the sadness on his face as he had signed her papers.

_I never even said goodbye..._

But Paine had told her to forget about him. After all, he probably hadn't thought about her for more than a minute since then, if he thought about her at all. Who knew what Dippy Gippy was thinking, anyway...

Rikku could feel herself getting frustrated again, and she stuffed the folio back under her bed before she flopped over it. Falling asleep in the desert was usually no problem for her- it felt just like Home. The constant sound of the sands blowing around outside were numbing enough to put her under, and before long, she had forgotten all about Gippal and the rest of her problems as she fell asleep.

* * *

The pebbly desert sand crunched beneath Gippal's boot as he stepped off of the hoover and squinted into the blinding desert sunlight. He could see the heat rising like waves off of the sand dunes, distorting the image of the short, Al Bhed woman who was waving at him. He strolled over to where she stood waiting for him, tapping her foot impatiently as always. 

"About time, Gippal!" Nhadala said in her usual "time for business" tone. "You're three minutes late."

"Can't rush a good thing," he said as he held a hand above his eye to survey the camp. He could see a team of Al Bhed men load up the hoover he had just stepped off of with cargo to return to the Western Shore, where it would be shipped to Djose and reconstructed by a team of engineers.

It wasn't often that he had to visit the island, as most of his work was based in Djose, but as head of the Machine Faction, it was Gippal's duty to make sure that every gear of this enterprise was turning as it should. Hence, his inspection of each camp once every six months.

The Western Expanse Division was like Hoover Central- the humming of motors was always heard, just as the smell of gas and oil never left the air. The sand never seemed to settle here as hoovers created dust clouds when they either departed or returned from each of the near-by digging sites.

As Gippal was staring around the camp, he suddenly realized that Nhadala had plowed right on into business and was already reciting figures in full-speed Al Bhed.

"...heads the Eastern Expanse, where we'll start this morning," she was saying as Gippal tried to catch up on the one-sided conversation. "And as you can see from my last inspection three months ago," Nhadala tapped at the chart on her clipboard, "they are currently at work excavating the larger machina deposits, so you'll find their UPT's drastically reduced from LY..."

Gippal started to zone out again as Nhadala never seemed to pause for breath. The paper work was the worst part, but that was why he'd hired her- to take care of that sort of thing. It didn't really matter to him if the UPT's were up or down, or if the percentage decrease in Special Assembly Z's was directly correlated to the high frequency of sand storms in the Southern Expanse. He was a mechanic at heart, and the fewer resources he had to work with, the more fun the challenge was to develop something new.

As Nhadala droned on about wage caps and recruitment fees, Gippal stared blankly at the flipping pages on her clipboard while his mind wandered back to the subject he'd been dwelling on for the past three weeks.

He had nearly spilled his coffee all over himself the morning he'd checked his Telesphere and received the Telegram reminding him of the inspection on Bikanel Island. It had listed the names of the sites and the crew leaders whom he was to contact, and before he had even skimmed halfway down the list, he choked on his coffee and had to read it again.

"Hanzo, Rikku; Eastern Expanse."

In the months since he'd last seen her, Gippal had been deeply immersed in conferences with Cid and the other engineers at Djose. He'd hardly had the time to think of the girl he'd sent to toil in the desert while he was busy trying to evade a political crisis.

Three weeks later, he'd had nothing _but_ time to think about it as he put off coming down for the inspection. He could have left the weekend after he received the Telegram, but something was holding him back.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Rikku again so soon. Every time he thought of her, that look of terror in her eyes would flood his memory and make him sick to his stomach. He couldn't stand one more look like that. The idea that she thought he was a monster was more than he could tolerate.

Gippal's jaw clenched at the memory. He was back in the desert with Nhadala still rattling on about the Zu population's effect on the ratios of failed and successful digs in the Northern Expanse, and all the while he dreaded meeting Rikku. Almost reflexively, he reached into his pocket and rubbed his thumb along the dented curve of the rusty old compass that he'd carried with him for the past six months. He hadn't meant it to, but the broken piece of scrap metal had served as something of a touchstone while he was under so much stress about the Anje/Bevelle situation.

He rubbed it now out of habit as he chewed on his lower lip, debating whether or not he was desperate enough for a cigarette when Nhadala suddenly looked up at him expectantly. He blinked under that hawk-like stare, knowing that she expected a response to a question that he had not heard.

"Well, Gippal?" she said again, irritably. "What do you think we should do about this?"

He floundered for an answer. "Uh, well..."

Nhadala started tapping her foot again. Ixion, he wished she'd stop doing that.

"Well, it looks to me like..." he paused, mind racing as he combed his hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "I mean, don't you think we need to head off to the first inspection? Got a busy day ahead of us!" He flashed his trademark playboy smile at her while Nhadala scowled back at him.

"Hmph. Fine," she said after a moment. Gippal may have been her boss, but he was privately relieved that he had been let off Nhadala's hook so easily.

"I know the Central Expanse was scheduled first on the list of inspections for today, but they had to move camp due to a cave-in, so they're closer to the Northern Division now. We'll just cross straight through to the Eastern Expanse instead and work clockwise from there. Rikku's usually on top of things, so I'm sure she won't mind that we're a little early."

Gippal felt a sinking feeling return to his stomach at the mention of Rikku and the Eastern Expanse. He had wanted to put that one off as long as he could.

"Uh," he began as Nhadala started to walk away from him toward the nearest hoover. "Wouldn't it make more sense to start clockwise from the Northern Expanse instead of crossing the whole island to go east? I mean, the camp's not going anywhere by tomorrow, are they?"

"No, trust me- it'll be faster this way. This island is longer than it is wide, so we'll get to Rikku's camp before noon and maybe reach the Southern Expanse by nightfall. It'll be painless, I promise."

_Painless, huh?_ Gippal thought wryly to himself. He was sure that there was going to be nothing painless about this trip at all.

* * *

Rikku rolled over and licked her dry lips. 

"Mmm... shark fin soup..."

She smiled and nuzzled her face into her pillow. She could almost taste the most wonderful dinner of her life.

"Bamboo potstickers and stuffed Peking duck..."

"Hey, Boss!"

"Mmm... Another sausage patty, please..."

"Rikku! Wake up!"

Rikku's eyes snapped open and stared straight ahead at the blinking clock across the small room. It flashed 9:30.

_Dammit_, she thought as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. _Slept in again..._

She groped around for her glasses as someone fumbled with the zipper to the room from the other side. Rikku was rummaging under her pillow as Hemi burst into the room, panting. Rikku was slightly alarmed as the other woman hunched over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"They're... here..." she heaved.

"Huh?" Rikku asked dazedly, her mind still trying to wake up.

"_Inspection_... here..." Hemi grunted as she took a deep breath. "And you won't believe it, but Miles's crane is buried and, and oh Rikku, I can't find the geo-strata reports!" she was beginning to panic again.

Rikku's bleary eyes shot open. "The inspection's already started! But they're early!"

Hemi was near tears. "I know! We were going to let you sleep until we got the camp back in order, but then Loren saw the hoover dust and Nhadala's..."

"Okay, okay," Rikku said as she stood up and took Hemi by the shoulders. "Listen. Just re-trace your steps around the tent and look for your reports. Tell the guys that I need them to dig out the crane..."

Rikku ran a hand through her messy hair, chewing quickly on her bottom lip. She didn't like the rush, but this situation wasn't doomed yet.

"I'll talk the higher-ups through the progress reports first, and you come over as soon as you find the eco-data, okay? Then we'll give them the tour of the camp and it'll be okay... I hope."

Hemi nodded quickly and dashed back through the tent flap. Rikku dove under her bed and retrieved the folio of reports before dashing out the door after her. She ran half-way across the mess hall before she realized that she was only wearing the cropped tank top and baggy pants that she used for pajamas- a bedraggled look that was certain to make her look like the type of person who would sleep in and loose the geo-strata reports with a submerged crane to boot.

She wasted a few precious seconds debating whether or not she should rush back to her room and pull on her work jacket and boots, but she settled instead for finger-raking her hair and pulling on an over-sized pair of rain galoshes before charging through the open tent flap.

Rikku had to stop and blink rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the suddenly intense sunlight. She wasn't used to not wearing contacts and her eyes strained behind her glasses. She squinted to try to make out the blurry grey and purple blob that appeared to be growing bigger...

"Well, if it isn't Cid's Little Girl," drawled a far too familiar voice. Rikku fought a surge of embarrassed indignation as she focused on Gippal's supremely confident grin. She watched his laughing eye take in everything from her messy hair to the giant galoshes on her feet.

_Disasterific..._ Rikku groaned inwardly.

Gippal couldn't help but smile when he saw her stumble out of the tent with those giant shoes on. She had done something different with her hair, too- other than the fact that she had obviously just woken up. It was long and crimped, and he watched as she irritably tried to brush it from her face.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he said as he reached over and brushed a strand off of her forehead. She indignantly turned her head away from his hand and opened her mouth to undoubtably administer some scathing reply, but just then, Nhadala strode purposefully up to them, sparing him the "little girl" speech.

"Rikku, I'm sure you remember our esteemed leader, Gippal. Gippal, you must know our newest crew leader, Rikku here." Nhadala smiled, her duty of introductions finished. She didn't look twice at Rikku's attire so much as she was staring hungrily at the folio of papers clutched in her arms. Rikku noticed this and coughed slightly as she made a point of ignoring Gippal's stare.

"I have the progress reports here," Rikku began as she unfolded the folio.

"Oh, goody," Nhadala eagerly hurried to her side, pushing Gippal out of the way as she reached to hold open the cover while Rikku turned the pages. Gippal had to walk around behind them to Rikku's other side, but she lifted the cover so that he couldn't see.

Rolling his eye, he left the two women as they huddled over the papers and he moved on to look around the camp. He could tell that a sand storm had recently been through, as the sand had piled up on one side of the tent structure. He walked around the tents to the main digging site, where he saw some workers hard at work unearthing a crane out from underneath the new sand dunes.

"Need some help there?" he called out as he wandered over. A short, heavily robed creature that looked oddly like a duck squeaked as he saw Gippal approaching and frantically threw himself to the ground, throwing sand in all directions as he attempted to burrow through the mounds around the wheels. A skinny blonde boy was pulling his shirt off over his head, and looked around bewildered when he heard the duck man squeak. When he saw Gippal, he froze, shirt half off, until a very tall, very dark man elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oww! Loren!" The blonde boy yelped and then blushed furiously. The tall called "Loren" just looked at Gippal and threw him a shovel, and the four of them proceeded to unearth the equipment.

Working together, they successfully liberated the crane and moved it away from the pit. The short, frantic one that now reminded Gippal of that producer from the Moonflow (Toby, or something) lay panting on the ground underneath his mounds of robes, while Loren pulled off his sweat-drenched shirt. Gippal followed suit and pulled off his long-sleeved grey shirt and armor, stripping to the waist. The blonde boy was still blushing furiously as he handed Gippal a bottle of water. Gippal was beginning to wonder if he had something on his face that the boy was staring at when the tall man spoke.

"Name's Lorenzon," he said gruffly and then nodded to where the duck-faced man lay on the ground. "The weird one's Miles, and the gay one's Cast."

"Hey!" Cast nearly squeaked, his voice shifting under embarrassment. Gippal tried to hide a smile.

"Gippal," he said, extending his hand.

"Hmph, I know," Lorenzon said in his usual careless, deep voice. "You didn't interview me personally, but everyone knows you're the Machine Faction Leader." He looked at Gippal sideways. "Think I heard you speak in Luca, too."

Gippal nodded, remembering the speech he helped give the day after Vegnagun's defeat.

"Hmph," Lorenzon growled again, now staring casually at his own water bottle. "You're a lot shorter than I thought."

Before Gippal could decide whether or not he should be offended by this comment, his attention was diverted when the two women walked onto the excavation site.

"...And this area over here is where the main excavation takes place..." Rikku was saying as she and Nhadala rounded the corner of the tents. They stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the half-naked men before them. Nhadala raised an eyebrow as she appraised Lorenzon, but Rikku blushed furiously as Gippal lowered the bottle from his lips and smiled at her.

"Well ladies!" he said with his half-grin, gesturing to the newly-unearthed crane. "How does it look?"

"Looks good," Nhadala smiled and winked at Rikku.

"Uh, right!" Rikku said quickly, embarrassed to find that her mouth had been hanging slightly open. Gippal turned slightly to hide a grin as he watched Rikku try to hide her embarrassment. Just then, another girl came speeding around the corner and up to Rikku, holding out another folio of papers.

"Here you go, Boss," the girl panted. Rikku had never been so grateful to see Hemi in her life. She thankfully opened the folio and fumbled through the papers while Hemi looked around. She took one look at Lorenzon's shirtless torso and didn't even try to hide her dropping jaw. Gippal looked quickly at Lorenzon and swore that he could see a blush underneath his already dark skin.

Gippal was just about to playfully poke fun at the couple when he heard a gurgling sound behind him. He turned around to see Toby or Miles or whomever roll over and gurgle some more. The duck-man was fully clothed in a heavy robe and had apparently passed out from the heat. They ran over to him, Gippal trying to decide if he should pour the water into the beak or look for a mouth as Lorenzon tried shaking him awake.

"Hey!" Cast slapped Miles over and over again. "Wake up!"

"Uugh..." gurgled Miles again. "No more boiled drake..."

"Miles?" Hemi said, snapping out of her trance.

"He's dehydrated," said Lorenzon in his gravelly, calm voice. "We'll take care of him."

Lorenzon picked up Miles effortlessly and strode toward the tents with Cast following closely behind him. Hemi licked her lips as she watched them go.

"Maybe I should go with them..." she said as she started after them. Rikku, who had been standing in a sort of daze until now, shook herself back to reality.

"Wait!" she called out, suddenly feeling anxiety at being left alone with the drooling Nhadala and the half-naked Gippal.

"I, I need you to help me report these to Nhadala!" She waved the papers at Hemi and tried not to look at Gippal.

Hemi looked extremely put out but walked back to where the two women were standing. Gippal suddenly had an idea.

"Hey," he said, turning to Hemi who seemed startled to see him standing there. He doubted she'd even noticed him while she was busy gawking at Lorenzon. He bit back a smile and tried not to look at Rikku.

"Why don't you talk to Nhadala about these reports while I yell at Rikku about the treatment of this crane?" He winked at Hemi, who nodded numbly. Rikku's jaw dropped again, this time out of disbelief. Gippal took advantage of her temporarily dumb-struck condition and pulled her away by the elbow toward the crane.

Rikku stumbled after him as he pulled her around by the arm until they reached the other side of the crane. He let her go and she narrowed her eyes at him, rubbing her arm unnecessarily. He was standing at the edge of the pit with his arms crossed, staring at the blue tarp that covered the machina that they were excavating.

Rikku was ready for an argument over the buried crane or the camp's progress or something, but the argument never came. Instead, he just stood there with his back to her as if he'd completely forgotten that he'd dragged her over here. She was about to open her mouth to tell him off for it when he suddenly spoke.

"I didn't know you wore glasses."

Rikku blinked. "Huh?"

"Your glasses," he said again, still staring off across the dunes. "Are they new?"

"What? No, I usually wear contacts." Why was he quizzing her about her vision? Was he just looking for something else to tease her about?

"Oh," he said simply, turning back to face her. "I guess they make you look a bit older."

Rikku swallowed hard and looked away. She could feel him staring intently at her but she didn't dare return his gaze. Instead, she pulled off the glasses and started cleaning them with the hem of her tank top.

"Hm, that's too bad," she said off-handedly. "I don't usually wear them."

Just then, they heard footsteps crunching over the gravel as Nhadala appeared.

"What are you two doing over here? We're having a meeting in the tent so hurry up!" Nhadala disappeared again as quickly as she had appeared, and Gippal grinned at Rikku.

"Well, you heard the woman, let's go!"

**

* * *

A/N: **It was really bugging me that none of the characters in FFX or X-2 had last names, so I borrowed some for them. "Hanzo" is from the great , after the legendary "Hattori Hanzo" swords. "Hemi" is the name of some men's Levi's jeans that I was folding when I was supposed to be working but instead I was thinking of writing. ;) 

Anyway, I've got the next eight or so chapters mapped out, and let me tell you, it's so much fun knowing that the best is yet to come. ;) I can't wait to share it!

Stay tuned!

**-P**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	8. A Little Bossy

* * *

Chapter 8

A Little Bossy

* * *

The afternoon quickly wore on for the camp at the Eastern Expanse. Nhadala's meeting had consisted of reiterating every progress report documented at the camp over the past six months. Gippal tried to hear her out for about fifteen minutes, but then he cut in with the excuse that he _really_ needed to complete his inspection of the camp's equipment before nightfall.

Therefore, he, Cast, and Lorenzon had all escaped outdoors. Cast was still blushing and stumbling around Gippal, who noticed but tried to act like a gentleman. He sighed as he asked Cast to hand him a screw and the young boy tripped and spilled the box in his eagerness.

_Oh well_, Gippal thought as he watched Cast scurry around, trying to catch all the rolling screws. _I can't help it that I'm so damned good-looking..._

Meanwhile, Nhadala sat in the tent, obsessively absorbed in record-keeping. Rikku had the unfortunate job of retrieving the boxes of reports from the past six months and hauling them over to her, like a worker ant feeding its queen. Hemi was trying to look busy, cleaning the mess hall and polishing random things while Miles recuperated from his near sun stroke by soaking himself in a bucket filled with ice water.

"I don't get it," he whined as he struggled around in the bucket. "Why can't I soak in the bathtub instead! It holds water too, ya know..."

"Don't be silly, Miles," Hemi said as fluffed a couch cushion. "You'd probably drown in that huge bathtub if we left you unsupervised. No, no, trust me-" she said as he opened his mouth to protest. "It's best if you're standing straight up like that."

"But I can't move my arms!" he complained as he tried to prove his point by twisting around like a washing machine agitator.

Rikku stifled a giggle as she let another box drop to the floor near Nhadala. She didn't quite get what the big fixation with the reports was- when Nhadala had come to inspect the camp three months ago, she hadn't spent this much time reading.

"It's all about data comparison," she had said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world when Rikku had asked her earlier. "Last time there was only the preliminary data, now I have to study that _and _this quarter's, and _then_ I get to compare the two." Rikku thought that she looked just a little too excited about that as she had eagerly snuggled into the great big armchair like she was settling into a good book.

Rikku sighed and rubbed the sore spot on her back from lifting all afternoon. At least she didn't have to suffer the indignity of taking orders from Gippal yet.

_Yet_, she thought sourly. She was just beginning to imagine Gippal wedged into an ice bucket similar to Miles's when the tent flapped open and the guys all marched back inside.

_It's like being in a men's locker room_, Rikku thought to herself with a shake of her head as the three guys stampeded in, laughing and slapping each other on their shirtless backs. She caught Hemi's eye, who winked at her and eyed the guys appreciatively while they bent over and raided the mini-fridge. Rikku pretended not to notice as she stooped down to organize a pile of Nhadala's discarded reading material.

"Okay, break time!" Gippal called out as he pulled out a case of beer. The guys cheered and each grabbed a bottle- Miles managed to squirm his way out of the bucket and waddled over to the party, splashing water everywhere. Hemi was there in an instant, fussing over Lorenzon's dark tan and lecturing him over the dangers of skin cancer.

Rikku tried to ignore them as she stuffed folders back into a box. She was not in the mood to have a good time with Gippal in the room. She was still mad at him. What it was for, she couldn't remember, but just seeing that careless smile on his face made her blood boil.

"What are you doing?" Nhadala gasped in horror while everyone was laughing in the kitchen.

_Yes_, Rikku smiled maliciously as she kneeled on the ground, still packing away the folders. _I hope she tells him off for slacking like that..._

"You're messing up all my reports!" Nhadala cried as she pulled the folders out of Rikku's hands. Rikku was stunned for a moment as Nhadala swooped over the boxes protectively, and she realized that Nhadala was yelling at _her._

She blushed furiously as she heard titters of laugher behind her. She stood up indignantly and brushed imaginary dirt off of her pants before turning around and glaring at her crew. She stood there with her mouth open, trying to think of something to divert attention away from herself, when Gippal made it his sacred duty to do just the opposite.

"Hey Kku-Ri!" he called out, grinning as he sat in the opposite corner of the room with his feet propped up. "Wrestle some of those papers away from Nhadala and come over here and give me your report. That's an order," he added with a wink.

Outraged at the pure enjoyment he was getting over bossing her around, Rikku had absolutely no intention of coming anywhere near him when Nhadala poked her in the back with a folder.

"Oh good," she said without taking her eyes off of the paper she was reading. "Report these too him and makes sure that he signs all the papers in this stack." She motioned to the mountain of folders next to her.

Rikku just stared at her disbelievingly as Gippal tried not to look too smug, sitting back in his chair and waiting for Rikku to give in. She lingered for as long as she could before Gippal cleared his throat meaningfully. He watched gleefully while she shuffled her feet over to where he sat apart from everyone else, waiting for her.

"Well, go ahead and sit down," he said, gesturing to the beat-up old armchair behind her. Pride stiffening her spine, she resolutely stood before him and began reading the report. He listened patiently as she read in perfect monotone, wondering how long she was planning on standing there just to spite him, when she paused to turn the page.

"What, finished already?" he asked, trying to look oblivious to her obvious annoyance. "You're a speedy reader, Kku-Ri." He winked at her as her face burned red and she bit back a scathing reply. She knew he was just baiting her, so she stoically ignored him and plowed back into reading the report.

After a few more moments of watching her read to him, Gippal looked up at the ceiling and pulled a bored face.

"You know, I kinda get the feeling that you don't like reading these reports so much," he said, biting back a grin.

He looked back at her again, amused, while Rikku tried to squash the desire to tackle him and beat him over the head with the folder. How dare he hold this over her head! She had to hold her tongue like any other employee regarding their boss, and she just knew that he was loving every minute of it.

After a few more moments of figure-reciting that Gippal didn't hear, he interrupted her again, unable to resist another chance to tease her while she couldn't fight back. He guessed it was only a matter of time before she completely gave up the employee/employer act and put him back in his place.

_But in the meantime_, he decided with a satisfied smile, _this is gonna be good._

"So, in your opinion," he began, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair importantly. "What do you believe to be the relationship between the steady increase in the bolt drake population here and with the frequency of the sandstorms in the Southern Expanse?"

Rikku threw down the folders, unable to hold back any longer and glared at him. It was all Gippal could do to bite his lips together and not burst out laughing.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Rikku said, exasperated with her hands on her hips. "Talking about bolt drakes and sandstorms-- are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Gippal offered innocently.

"_No it is not a rhetorical question!_" she hissed, fighting the desire to scream in frustration. Gippal grinned more broadly than ever as he leaned back further and folded his arms behind his head.

"So, what you're saying is that you don't know..."

"Dammit, Gippal!" she finally, throwing her hands up in the air. Rikku suddenly noticed how quiet the room had gotten, and she could feel everyone's eyes burning into her back as she stood there blushing.

"Why don't we finish this in the next room...?" Gippal suggested, stifling another laugh.

Across the room, Miles looked worriedly up at Lorenzon, who was wearing a smug grin as Gippal held open the tent flap and Rikku marched indignantly into her room.

"Is the Boss going to be okay?" Miles asked in a whisper. Lorenzon shook his head knowingly.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she's going to be just _fine_," he said before taking another drink of his beer. Cast just looked on forlornly as Gippal zipped up the tent flap from the other side.

"Why are the good ones always straight?" he asked, wistfully.

* * *

Rikku strode straight across the room and flopped into an armchair. She reached over the side where a stack of records that she had unearthed for Nhadala lay and grabbed the nearest one. She randomly pulled out papers and held them in front of her face, pretending to read them. She was too mad to concentrate, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she was interrupted, anyway.

Sure enough, she heard the tent flap zip shut and without a glance knew that he was standing there with that cocky grin on his face.

Gippal watched her for a moment as she pointedly ignored him from the corner of the room. Deciding that he could return the favor, he strolled over to one of the two beds in the room and sat down on it.

"This isn't very soft," he commented as he bounced a little on it. He waited for Rikku's reaction and saw her eyebrows quirk a little, but she didn't say anything.

"You should send in a request for a softer bed on the next supply list," he offered suggestively. "I'm sure I could hook you up with one in no time..."

Still no reaction. He stood up again and paced across the room, picking up random things and pretending to scrutinize them. When he looked over his shoulder to see if she was watching him, he was slightly disappointed to find her still absorbed in her reading, as if he wasn't even in the room.

Dropping the sock he was holding, he sauntered over to where she sat, still pretending to ignore him. He deliberately leaned over the chair and planted his hands on each arm rest, caging her there. He knew just one swift kick to the unprotected groin would end this situation in a hurry, but he was willing to risk it.

He reached over and pulled the papers down from in front of her face, revealing a very pissed off Rikku.

"Rikku, I was hoping you'd give me you undivided attention," he said in a mockingly sweet voice.

She wanted very much to just bite the nose off of that smirking face, but she gathered her composure and forced herself to relax.

"Yes, Sir?" she said through gritted teeth.

He looked at her for a moment, watching her beautifully green, extremely angry Al Bhed eyes watch his own. When he had come to inspect the camp this morning and first saw her, he had been surprised by her indifference to him. No anger, (well, except for right _now_, but that was besides the point), no fear, and none of the hyperactivity of a four year-old on a sugar high that he had come to expect from "Little Rikku."

And from what he had heard from the reports that she had read to him, she knew what she was talking about. She'd become a lot more serious and responsible, actually applying her natural genius of chemistry and mechanics to her work.

But he was damned if he was going to tell her that and let the chance to tease her slip away. He couldn't help it if making her angry was so much fun.

"Look, Gippal," she finally said, interrupting his internal monolog. He smiled politely while she scowled at him.

"You're my boss. Why can't you act like it?"

"I _am_ acting like your boss," he said, holding his hand to his heart as if wounded. "I'm annoying you, aren't I?"

"Whatever," she said dismissively as she picked up the papers again.

"Aren't you going to read them to me?" he asked, pointedly.

"You're not illiterate, I hope. Read them yourself."

"Are you still mad at me, Rikku?"

She humphed again.

"Aw, come on, Coo-Coo," he drawled. "I'm sorry I called you flat-chested. You look fine from here..."

"Gippal!"

Grinning so that she could see every tooth in his head, he quickly jumped back before she could slap him.

"Alright, alright- sorry, sorry..." he said, scratching the back of his head. Rikku crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him. He knew he had probably pushed too many buttons today, but it would just be too weird to have a serious conversation with Kku-Ri.

He turned his back to her and wandered back to her bed, where he flopped down and lay staring at the ceiling. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, and they could still hear the laughter and muffled conversation in the next room.

"Hey Rikku..." he started in a different tone, almost serious. Rikku looked over at where he lay on her bed with his arms folded behind his head, his sudden change in disposition making her uncertain of whether or not he was just teasing her again.

"I _am_ sorry for making fun of you... and for whatever else I've done to make you so mad." The memory of that day in Luca flashed across his mind again. He wondered if she still thought about it.

He sat up and stared at a suitcase on the floor that served as a night stand. Several picture frames stood on top of it, and he studied them as he tried to think of what he wanted to say. One was an old picture of a little Rikku, maybe five or six years old, with her father and Brother. Little Rikku smiled happily up at him.

"I know I got out of control that day in Luca, but I..." He closed his eye and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was only trying to protect you. I can't forget that night, Rikku..."

Rikku swallowed hard, unable to speak as he stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of her again.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he said, kneeling down in front of her so that she didn't have to crane her head up to see him. He couldn't tell by her expression if she was scared again or just too angry for words, but he kind of hoped it was the latter.

"Are... you still angry?" he asked with a wince, waiting for her reply. Rikku felt a growing sense of trepidation as the air felt somewhat heavier than it had a few minutes ago. He looked like he might be teasing her, but he sounded like he was trying to be serious... or at least a 'Gippal' version of serious...

It was true that she had been scared of him that day, and later when she thought about it, a little angry, but Paine had told her to not be so surprised. She suddenly remembered Paine and how she had warned her to not get too close to Gippal. Rikku looked at him now as he seemed to be almost nervously waiting for her reply.

"I guess not," she finally said, forcing a small smile.

"Alright then!" he said, clapping his hands together as he stood up. He grinned down at her, relieved to see the tiny smile on her face. He bent down to ruffle her hair.

"Now that we're best friends again, you won't mind coming with me to the Southern Expanse tomorrow."

"W, what?" Rikku stammered as she crashed back to reality. "I can't leave the camp! What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to leave Nhadala in charge here- she doesn't look like she's going to finish anytime soon, anyway." He smiled confidently and stretched, and Rikku suddenly remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt as she watched his ab muscles flex. She shook her head suddenly, trying to pick up the thread of the argument.

"Wait a minute- that doesn't make any sense! She has to go to the inspection, too, doesn't she? I'm not a director..."

"Listen, I think you might be more help than Nhadala, anyway, considering where we're going."

"Huh?" Rikku asked, still dazed. "What's in the Southern Expanse except sandstorms every five minutes?"

Gippal sighed good-naturedly as he shook his head. "Rikku, Rikku, Rikku- don't you even remember where you lived two years ago? You're more spacey than I thought."

Rikku blinked. "Home?"

"Yep," Gippal said, heading toward the tent-flap door. "You're coming with me to inspect the Southern Expanse, otherwise known as the ruins of Home. Tomorrow morning," he waggled his finger at her. "And that's final."

"H, hey!" she said as he struggled to unzip the door. She jumped out of her chair to stop him before he could get away.

"You can't just tell me to drop everything here and run off to another camp!" she argued, her anger swiftly reigniting. "I have things to do!"

"Oh really?" he asked. "Aren't you the one who just wanted me to act more like your boss? I'm bossing you around now, aren't I?"

"Oooooh!" she exhaled in exasperation, and threw the papers that were clutched in her hand to the ground. Gippal couldn't stop grinning for the life of him as he watched her sputter in anger. For a moment, he was sure that she was going to deck him, but she just glared at him.

"Don't patronize me. I am not a little girl anymore, Gippal," Rikku spoke with barely controlled rage.

"I am entirely aware of that, Lady Rikku," he said with a sweetness to match her anger. "And that is why I require your _professional_ opinion of the Southern Expanse base tomorrow." He flashed her another smile and a wink before turning on his heel and striding out of the room.

"_Ooooooooh!_" Rikku screamed in outrage, stamping her foot.

* * *

In the next room, Miles looked again at Lorenzon when they heard Rikku's temper tantrum through the fabric-thin walls.

"Are you _sure_ she's going to be okay?" he asked worriedly. Lorenzon just smiled and took another drink.

"Yeah," Cast filled in conversationally. "The mating rituals of heteros are kind of weird." The three of them watched as Gippal strode confidently past them and dug into the cooler, retrieving a beer. He winked at them as he popped the top and took a drink.

"What's up, guys?" he asked them as they all stared at him. Cast just sighed.

"Totally weird," Miles said in awe.

* * *

The empty halls of Bevelle echoed heavily as Anje's heels clicked hard against the tiled floor. The eerie mist covering the floor parted in waves as she strode down one corridor before turning sharply down another. She detested having to visit the temple under any circumstance, with its winding halls and seemingly infinite levels, not to mention the company it kept.

_But all circumstances considered_, she thought bitterly to herself, _this is the worst one._

Anje's perfectly lined brown eyes narrowed once again as she considered her predicament for the thousandth time. She had been summoned before the Tribunal itself after months awaiting their verdict. She had been dismissed after her report of the failure to assassinate the Machine Faction Leader six months ago, and was therefore forced to leave the Province in disgrace.

Her contract with Yevon had probably been one of the greater mistakes of her life. Taking a job from the sinister remnants of a world power held the promise of the influence and riches of success, but once you were in, there was no out. Failure was not even an option. Some tried to run for it and assume new lives throughout Spira, but that only postponed the inevitable. Anje herself had been sent to find those who defaulted on Yevon, and she knew first-hand that they always got their man.

She supposed she was lucky to have been given this second chance. She had known that fleeing Bevelle would only buy her time until they decided to seek her out, but when they did, it was with a proposition. She would return to Bevelle to face their good justice, or be hunted for the rest of her life. Anje chose the former.

She entered the wide, open hall where the political prisoners were tried and looked up into the balconies above. She could only see shadows of the members of the Tribunal and hear their hushed whispers. She had never seen them in person; all her assignments were through coded Telespheres or private contacts whom she never met again.

Now she stood on the ground floor, breathing deeply and trying to ignore the quickening pace of her heartbeat. A larger shadow seemed to materialize out of the darkness behind it and a deep, sonorous voice filled the stagnant air:

"Anjines Guado, approach the stand."

Anje's spine stiffened at the reference to her heritage, but she approached the lift that hoovered a step away from the ground floor. She turned her face upward at the light that poured from the ceiling but shrouded the Tribunal from sight. She could hear the whispers all around her as the deep voice spoke.

"You have been called here to honor your pledge to the Holy Order of Yevon. Did you not agree to Our terms six months and a day before to fulfill Our purpose?"

"I did," she answered, determined to keep the quaver out of her voice.

"Our purpose remains unfulfilled," the voice rumbled ominously, barely allowing her time to answer. "Under pain of death, you agreed before this Tribunal to purge Spira of the Undesirables. You understand the conditions of the agreement?"

"I do," she said through clenched teeth.

"The heretics live," the voice rolled off the granite walls. "In the Holy Name of Yevon, they must be brought to justice."

"It will be done."

"So be it. The Order awaits your favorable return."

Anje waited while the Tribunal filed out of the room above her. Her fists slowly unclenched, and she stared at the indentations her fingernails left in the heels of her hands.

_Gippal_, she thought, reclenching her fists. _Consider the negotiations to be over._

* * *

**A/N: **Gasp! Anje's a Guado? Hey, Seymour was half and half, too, but my theory is that he took after his father's side. Anyway, it's not important to the story. ;)

**Concerning Yevon: **Yes, Yevon did fall from grace with the coming of the Eternal Calm, and after the end of X-2, New Yevon seems to have fallen apart as well. However, that would seem to be a very nice cover for more sinister operations... I plan to discuss this further in the next chapter during a certain campfire scene, but for now consider that Yevon's absolute dominion over the people of Spira is too far-reaching to be dispelled in a matter of two years.

Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? I deleted it so many times that I'm surprised that you're reading this. I felt like we needed some definite Rikku/Gippal introspection, but does the couple's apparent bi-polarity seem a little much? I don't know, but I guess we'll just have to delve a little deeper with the next chapter.

Oh yeah, and the next chapter is titled, "**A Little Kiss.**" ;)

**-P**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	9. A Little Kiss

* * *

Chapter 9

A Little Kiss

* * *

The next morning found Rikku, bleary-eyed and clutching a cup of very black coffee, aboard a hoover speeding over the dunes as it headed straight for the Southern Expanse. Less than half an hour ago, she'd been shoved from her warm bed by an extremely awake Gippal ("Rise and shine, Kku-Ri! Ever seen 5:30 in the morning?") and marched through the darkness to the hoover.

Still trying to wake up as she crouched over her wind-chilled coffee, Rikku squinted as the wind and sand flew in her face. If she could have managed a facial expression, it would have been irritated.

Gippal meanwhile grinned happily as he stood with his hands on his hips, shouting small-talk over the buzzing hoover motor to the driver ("Yna fa drana oad?"). When the grey outlines of the Southern Expanse camp came into view, he turned around to smile at Rikku. She refused to look at him.

Finally stepping off the hoover and ignoring the hand that Gippal had extended to help her down, Rikku was amazed to find the sun finally rising. A tall, broad-shouldered man wearing goggles walked directly toward them and extended a hand to her.

"Good morning, ma'am," he said without a trace of an accent. "You must be director Nhadala?"

Still feeling wind-blown and not yet quite awake, Rikku squinted up at him. "Uh, morning..."

"Her name's Rikku," said Gippal from directly behind her. Rikku jumped a little, having not noticed him standing there. She proceeded to ignore him.

"I'm Rikku," she repeated, brightening up her smile as she extended her hand.

"Micheal," the man smiled in return, pulling off his goggles as he shook her hand. Rikku lost her breath for a moment when he smiled at her. His face was absolutely perfect-- all the way from his straight nose to his straight, white teeth, and then there were those stunningly baby-blue eyes…

Gippal stepped around her and stood frowning as he watched Rikku stare dreamily up at the primped and preened pretty-boy in front of him. What was she gawking at when they had work to do? The guy was ugly as Sin, anyway.

Before Rikku could finish wondering how Micheal got his teeth so straight and white, Gippal coughed importantly, and she snapped out of her trance.

"Name's 'Gippal,' your _boss_, by the way," he stated pointedly as Rikku blushed furiously and suddenly noticed that she was still holding Micheal's hand. Micheal smiled apologetically and extended his hand to his boss, who just folded his arms over his chest.

"'Micheal' huh?" Gippal asked, looking the man up and down. "What kind of weirdo name is that?"

"I, I'm sorry, Sir?" Micheal stammered, confused.

"Never mind," Gippal said, suddenly irritated. This was taking too long already. "You the crew leader then?"

"Yes, Sir," Micheal said, recovering swiftly with another dashing smile. "I apologize for the earlier assumption," he nodded to Rikku who smiled her best dimples. Gippal narrowed his eyes.

"I only arrived two weeks ago," Micheal went on quickly, hoping to pacify Gippal's intensifying displeasure. "I was originally stationed in the Central Expanse, but I was assigned here to help out with the shoopuf situation. I was left with full instructions for the inspection today and I received the telegram yesterday that directors Nhadala and yourself would be here to personally inspect the camp."

He paused to smile again at Rikku. "Sorry, all I knew was that Nhadala was a woman and that she was blonde- I guess I thought you looked the part."

Rikku nearly swooned but Gippal was getting annoyed with the small-talk. "I think it's a pretty well-known fact that all Al Bhed are blonde by inheritance," he snapped. "And if you're finished making half-assed assumptions, I'd like to see those progress reports already."

Micheal swallowed hard and felt suddenly guilty of his own dark curls under Gippal's piercing stare. He nodded curtly and strode off in the direction of the largest tent in the middle of the camp. Rikku silently glared up at Gippal, who stared wide-eyed back at her.

"What the heck did I do?" he asked, bewildered as she stalked off toward the camp.

* * *

Inside the main tent, Gippal sat sullenly in a corner of the room with one leg thrown over the arm of his chair as he flipped idly through progress reports, pointedly ignoring Rikku and the pretty boy as they crowded around a small table in the center of the room. He listened ("_disinterestedly_," he reassured himself) as Micheal explained the sudden influx of shoopufs in the territory, which seemed to follow the sudden increase in sandstorms. Gippal had yet to hear anything about the main purpose of this camp, which was to excavate structural clues from the ruins of Home in hopes of drawing up blueprints for a new building.

Instead, Gippal rolled his eyes as Rikku eagerly agreed with Micheal about the migration patterns of shoopuffs.

"...So I figured," Micheal went on, encouraged by Rikku's interest. "They must be following the cold fronts as they move over the desert, but shoopufs aren't natural desert-dwellers, which could mean..."

"Who _cares_ what it means," Gippal interrupted as he stood up and stretched. Rikku glared at him as he sauntered over to the table where she and Micheal were studying the area maps. Gippal pretended not to notice her obvious annoyance as picked up one of the maps.

"All I care about are these blueprints," Gippal said, eying them mildly. He was the one who was in charge here, after all, and he wanted to make sure that Micheal knew it.

"I haven't heard a single word about this camp's projected development plans," he went on, turning his eye on Micheal who stood up a little straighter as he looked his superior in the eye. Gippal was even more annoyed to have to look up as Micheal stood straight, as the other man was at least two inches taller than him.

"Maybe if you'd stop flirting with the pretty blonde girl, you'd get your ass in gear and do your damned job."

"Gippal!"

"There's no excuse for the state of this camp, Rikku!" Gippal contended, his eyes still locked onto Micheal's. He could see the other man's face harden and his jaw set, but he did not speak to defend himself.

"You're weeks off schedule," Gippal went on, his anger mounting. Rikku's mouth hung open in objection, but he couldn't stop now.

"...and according to those project reports, what work you do have done is less than half compared to last quarter!"

"With all due respect, _Sir_," Micheal said through gritted teeth. "_Last_ quarter, when I was _not_ here, involved mainly clearing of debris, while this time we have to do the heavy unearthing. The excavation process is nearly impossible with all of these sandstorms..."

"Fuck the sandstorms!" Gippal shouted.

"That's enough, Gippal!"

He looked over to where Rikku stood, her hands balled into shaking fists as she glared at him with a look of pure loathing.

"What the heck is your problem, huh?" she shouted at him, stepping between him and Micheal. "You think you know what the hell you're talking about when you just shout orders like a moron- you have no idea what the hell is going on! Why don't you just shut up and stop making an idiot out of yourself!"

Gippal just stood there during her onslaught, his head buzzing with rage. He was speechless, his mouth was poised as if he were about to yell back at her, but he was far to angry to form coherent words.

Instead, he clenched his jaw shut and glared at her before turning on his heel and striding out of the room. Rikku stood equally speechless, her adrenaline falling as she watched Gippal stalk out of the tent. She felt herself deflate, no longer boiling with anger, and suddenly very alone. A large, warm hand lightly squeezed her shoulder. She looked up to see Micheal smiling slightly down at her, but she didn't feel the least bit cheered.

* * *

Before night had fallen, another sandstorm had quickly rushed in, effectively confining the members of the Southern Expanse to the boundaries of the camp, including the inspectors.

Gippal paced restlessly in his tent, still fuming over the bout with Rikku in Micheal's tent that afternoon.

_What the hell was her problem, anyway?_ He thought to himself, still irritated but considerably less angry than earlier.

_Micheal is the_ moron... He thought. _She can't even see the way he's playing her- playing the "I'm so cute, I can't read a blueprint to save my life but I'll blab about sandstorms and migrating shoopufs."_ Everyone _knows about migrating shoopufs..._

"Rrr!" Gippal growled as he punched his fist into his hand. Just thinking about that pretty boy was irritating him. Sure, it probably wasn't the most managerial way for him to yell at his subordinates, but Rikku sure hadn't had any reservations in putting him in his place...

"Tch, I wouldn't have pegged her to be the one to break up a fight," Gippal mused to himself. "Half the time, she's the one who starts it." He suddenly thought back to Yuna's wedding day, when he and Rikku had last gotten into it this badly.

"I guess I didn't handle that one too well, either..." Gippal muttered to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't help it, though," Gippal said aloud, irritated that he felt like he had to defend himself against his memories. "She's so damned frustrating!"

_"'Why don't you just shut up and stop making an idiot out of yourself!'"_

"Hey, Gippal!"

"And rude, and _mean_..."

"Um, hello? Spira to Gippal!"

Gippal turned abruptly from his thoughts and looked up to see Rikku standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, staring at him as if he'd sprouted two heads.

"Who the heck were you talking to?" she asked, looking at him warily. "Are you okay?"

"Rikku..." Gippal was dazed for a moment, wondering vaguely what she was doing in his tent.

"You're such a jerk! Being mean to Micheal like that, what the heck did he ever do to you?"

Oh yeah, that was it.

"Yo, it's not my fault that he's an incompetent crew leader with a dumb name."

"There's nothing wrong with this camp _or_ his name!" Rikku shouted. "I've never seen such a serious team! It's amazing that they've gotten anything done with shoopufs stepping on equipment and sandstorms burying whatever they uncover."

"Yeah, well... he..." Gippal floundered for something to base his anger on. "He... still has a dumb name."

"Oh geeze!" cried Rikku, throwing her hand up into the air. "And what kind of a name is 'Gippal,' huh? It sounds like a ... a fish burped, or something."

Gippal just stared at her, slack-jawed for a moment, and Rikku mentally kicked herself for sounding stupid again. He was going to get her for that one.

A wide grin broke out over his face. "'Fish burp?'"

"Yeah, that's right!" Rikku said defiantly. "And you smell like it, too!"

Gippal doubled over laughing while Rikku's face burned redder than a flan rojo. Oh, this conversation was going _straight_ into the direction that she wanted it to...

"Listen to me!" she tried to start again as Gippal stood up and wiped tears from his eyes, trying not to smile too much.

"Okay, Rikku," he said, unable to hide a grin. "Whatever you say."

"I think you should apologize," she said firmly. "I don't know what Micheal did, but..."

"That's exactly it!" Gippal said, still smiling. "He doesn't do anything! He..."

"Will you stop that already!" Rikku yelled, frustrated all over again. "Despite what you might think, Gippal, I really don't enjoy arguing with you!"

"Then why don't you..." Gippal began, his smile disappearing.

"You act like you don't even care!" she interrupted. She was near tears at this point, but there was no way she was going to cry in front of him. He'd never let her hear the end of it.

"I have feelings, too, you know! When you just go off and get angry for no reason, it... it scares me!"

Gippal was struck dumb for a few moments as he tried to absorb what she had just said.

_Scared?_

Gippal focused his eyes on the floor, unable to look at her while she wrapped her arms around herself and her eyes stung red. Memories of that day in Luca burned painfully on his mind, when she had cowered in fear of him with those same eyes... The only thing going through his mind on that day was how he had to protect her. The same thing happened when he yelled at Micheal, who was standing much too near to her, breathing his shoopuf fantasies down her neck...

Gippal rubbed the side of his nose next to his good eye and sighed deeply. It suddenly struck Rikku how tired he looked, and for a moment she felt her anger ebb away. Instead of the anger she thought she'd receive in return, there was a sadness, a weary concern, and something else...

"You say I act like I don't care, but I do," he finally said, eye still closed.

"Oh, and I suppose that's why you act like such a jerk all the time, huh? Because you 'care.'" He surprised her as he suddenly smiled and shook his head.

"Ha, but you do act like a little kid sometimes, so I can't help it that I treat you like that in return. You bug me too, Rikku, when you flip between a lady and a baby all the time."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" she cried out defensively. "Keep acting like you're my big brother? Well sorry, but that position's already been filled!"

"Why the defense all of the sudden, Rikku? You never minded before."

"Well," she said, trying to stay angry but faltering under his totally passive approach. "Things are... things are different now..." It was true. She was tired of the old games that they'd played together-- teasing and laughing like children. Everyone was always telling her to grow up, but when she finally tried, why were they all so surprised?

"You're exactly right- things are different now." He stepped closer and looked down at her. Rikku had to tilt her head back to keep glaring at him.

"You're _not_ a little girl anymore. I know you can take care of yourself."

"Then..." Rikku began, but Gippal cut her off before she could finish. She tensed at the sudden movement as Gippal leaned forward and closed the gap between them, kissing her fully on the mouth. Stunned at the sudden change in situation, it was a few moments before she realized that he was kissing her. Regaining control of her body, she quickly jerked her head backward and slapped him.

"W, what the hell are you _thinking!_" she yelled, a dark flush of embarrassment and anger creeping over her cheeks.

Gippal was still rubbing the side of his face where she'd hit him._ Dammit_, he thought to himself with a wince. _That hurt more than I expected..._

"You freakin' looney toon!" she went on, flustered. "You can't treat me like that!"

"Rikku..." he began warily, but she just threw her hands up in the air.

"Like... like I'm _convenient_ or something!" Rikku tried to keep her anger up, but she faltered as she saw the look on Gippal's face. He was staring at her intently, the look of hurt confusion that should have been reflected in her eyes was mirrored in his own.

"Just because... you're my boss... that doesn't mean you can just use me for a quick fix, you got that!" She tried to strengthen her resolve. "You can't treat me like I don't have any feelings at all!"

She glared angrily as he stared at her. For a moment, he looked like he was about to say something, but in another moment it was gone. Instead, he just nodded.

"Huh," he said mildly as he turned to leave. Rikku's jaw dropped in disbelief that he was just going to walk away without so much as an apology.

"Gippal!" she shouted, not even knowing what she would say if he turned around and looked at her again.

He stopped but didn't turn around. Rikku paused uncertainly, her anger quickly falling away as she stood hopelessly, wishing he would say something.

"You're right, Rikku," he finally said. His voice sounded heavy and tired. Rikku just stared at him, unable to believe her ears. Did the Great, Eternally Correct and Faultless Gippal just tell her that she was right?

"You're right," he repeated. "I don't know what I was thinking anymore than you do. I'm sorry."

Rikku watched, rooted to the spot, as he stepped over the tent flap and left her standing alone in his room. When he had gone, she sighed and felt the breath that she had been holding rush out of her, leaving her light-headed. She staggered and reached out for something to steady herself. Grasping the arm of a chair, she sank into it, balancing her elbows on her knees and holding her head in her hands.

_Oh Fayth_, she thought wearily. _What am I going to do now?_

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	10. A Little Complicated, Part 1

**The Story So Far...**

Six months have passed, and Rikku is excavating away in the desert. Gippal shows up to inspect the camp and sparks fly. Gippal bullies Rikku into inspecting the Southern Expanse with him, where ruins of Home are located. They meet the crew leader Micheal, and Gippal goes on the defensive. Rikku reprimands him, only to find herself completely confused when Gippal surprise kisses her.

Unbeknownst to the bewildered couple, the assassin Anje has made a dark pact with The Order of New Yevon- the shadowy remains of Bevelle's rulers who want to eradicate the "undesirable" Al Bhed, starting with Machine Faction Leader Gippal.

Can the jaded couple get it together before disaster strikes? Find out in the this pivotal chapter 10,

**"A Little Complicated."**

**-P**

* * *

Chapter 10  
A Little Complicated

* * *

Hours had passed since Gippal's encounter with Rikku, and his jaw still throbbed from where she had smacked him one. He'd spent the rest of his afternoon grudgingly doing his job of inspecting the camp while taking his bad mood out on Micheal, who tailed him through the camp and set his jaw harder and harder against Gippal's relentless snide remarks.

Gippal reflected on this as he sat alone in his tent with an ice pack pressed to his head.

_That guy has the patience of an adamantoise_, Gippal mused bitterly. _Then again, he's just about as thick-headed..._

He thought of earlier in the day when Micheal had been trying to impress Rikku with his knowledge of shoopufs and groaned as he lay back on his bed and closed his eye.

_I can't believe she's falling for that guy..._ he thought, recalling her absorbed expression when she listened to Micheal._ I could have told her the same thing and she probably would have laughed and made some smart-assed remark..._

The dull pain throbbed in his jaw with renewed vigor and he stood up to look at himself in the mirror.

"Dammit, did she break the damned thing?" he cursed aloud as he poked the swelling bruise on his jaw. He narrowed his eye as he scrutinized his reflection. He took in the scruffy blonde hair, the worn black leather eye patch, and the sharp angles of his face. No matter how many women swooned over him or how many times he played the flirt in front of his friends, deeply he felt nothing but contempt for the ragged and rough face that was looking back at him.

_No wonder she's so damned scared of me,_ Gippal thought as he turned away from the mirror. Mercilessly, the memory of how he had impulsively kissed her returned unbidden to his mind again, and he swore under his breath.

_What the hell was I thinking?_ he thought for the millionth time. He had just been standing in front of her, enduring the full extent of the rage that was Rikku when he felt himself get pulled into those deep, swirling green eyes.

"Aw, fuck it," he muttered as he snatched up his journey packed and rooted around for his cigarettes. He found them crushed at the bottom, underneath a small yet heavy metal object. He pulled them both out, absently removing a cigarette from the pack while he turned the compass over in his hand.

_This damned thing, I don't know why I hung on to it..._

He continued to stare at the rusty compass as he walked out of his tent and into the cool night air. He supposed he could fix it if he wanted, just crack open the back and maybe replace the magnate and needle. He ran his thumb over the etched inscription again.

"Veht Ouin Fyo"

_Find your way...  
_

Gippal narrowed his eye and stuffed the compass back into his pants pocket. He didn't need anymore bad memories to think about right now. He walked on around the tents, watching shadows move in the flickering lamp light within. Here and there he heard boisterous laughter and raised voices, and decided to walk a little farther away from the noise to clear his head.

As he walked through an open space between tents, he suddenly realized that the cigarette dangling between his lips was unlit. Shaking his head, he reached into his pants pocket again to search for a lighter when he discovered that not only did he not have a lighter, but the compass was no longer there.

"Shit," Gippal cursed, throwing his unused cigarette to the ground as he thrust his hand through the hole in his pocket._ I must have dropped it somewhere..._

He began to retrace his steps back to his tent through the dark, shuffling his feet through the sand in hopes that he'd feel his boot connect with the heavy metal compass.

He was still scuffling around in the dark when he heard the crunch of boots on some near-by gravel. He stopped for a moment, listening. When he didn't hear it again, he shrugged his shoulders and resumed his search.

_Probably just one of the crew members out taking a leak..._

Abruptly, Gippal's boot connected with something hard._ Ah ha!_ He thought to himself triumphantly. _Gotcha!_

He stooped quickly to pick up the object when there was a sudden "kachunk" sound, and something whistled heavily through the air right over his back where he had been standing a moment before.

Gippal stood up quickly, head cocked in the direction that the whistling had come from. His eye strained through the darkness, trying to distinguish between the shadows. He made out a shape, huddled next to one of the tents.

"Hey!" he called out, waving his arms. "What are you doing over there? Did you see..."

Before he could finish his sentence, there was another "kachunk" sound, and something came speeding at him with the whistling sound he had heard before. Something heavy and narrow flew with deadly precision right at him, and before he had time to move, it pierced through the air right under his raised left arm, tearing his shirt and barely missing his skin.

_What the hell!_

Gippal ducked and rolled out of the way at the sound of another "kachunk," and he crouched behind a stack of crates. He reached for the holster at his hip and cursed when he found it empty.

_That was real smart,_ he thought bitterly to himself. He rarely went anywhere without at least a pistol.

Gippal jumped as something collided with the wooden crates in front of him, passing through one side and out the other just inches from his face. Gippal gaped disbelievingly at he hole that was torn through both sides of the heavy wood.

_Shit!_ he thought wildly to himself, turning around to crouch along the perimeter of the dark tent behind him. He saw the projectile and picked it up. It was a crossbow bolt used for game hunting. Someone was hunting _him._

He kept his head ducked and crouched his way around the tent, his mind running furiously as he wondered if the shooter was chasing him. He paused at the corner of the tent and peered around the edge. From this vantage point, he should have had a clear view of where he had first seen the shooter. They were no where to be seen.

Gippal crouched silently beside the tent, straining his ears for the sound of movement. He could hear the distant voices drifting up from camp, but the nearest lit tent was more than 100 yards away.

He stayed kneeling in the dark for what felt like an eternity, shivering convulsively as the cold night wind blew over his scanty hiding place. Protected only from one side by the flimsy fabric of the tent, he was wide open for attack. He glanced at the wide expanse of open sand to his left, and at the abandoned tents in front and beside him. His heart was beating madly, and suddenly he felt a little foolish. He decided to make a break for it.

He broke away from his hiding place in a sprint for the main camp. Behind him, he thought he could hear the cock of a crossbow being reloaded. He dove forward and hit the sand head on as the sound of another releasing crossbow string went "kachunk" and another bolt sang through the air over his head. He scrambled to his feet and mad a mad dash for the main tent.

Running parallel and less than five yards away from the main entrance, Gippal hurled himself forward, colliding with a body just as it exited the tent. Gippal heard the woman shriek as he pulled her down with him. Immediately, men poked their heads out of the tents all around them, and Micheal along with a few others ran out of the tent that Gippal had been aiming for.

"What the hell?" Micheal asked, standing over the two on the ground. "Rikku, are you alright?"

Gippal looked down at the woman he was laying on to find a slightly dazed but quickly angering Rikku beneath him. Before he could open his mouth to explain, she quickly pushed him off of her and pulled herself up, brushing sand off of her arms.

"Dammit Gippal!" she nearly screamed. "What the hell is the matter with you? Bowling out of the dark and tackling me- have you lost your mind!"

Gippal ignored her as he hastily picked himself off the ground and quickly scanned the surroundings. All he saw were some very confused (and a few amused) faces. No assassins.

"Hey!" Rikku yelled again, snapping his attention back to her. "Did you hear me? What's going on?"

"Someone just tried to kill me," Gippal said bluntly. Rikku's jaw dropped and a loud murmuring spread through the crowd. Gippal irritably brushed sand out of his hair, ignoring them.

After a few moments, Micheal shook his head as if snapping himself back to reality. "Alright everyone!" he called, stepping forward and taking charge of the situation. "Get back into your tents! This camp is in lock down until I say otherwise! No one is to leave the perimeter under any circumstances!"

The spectators groaned and turned grudgingly back into their tents as Gippal narrowed his eye at Micheal. Micheal turned and held his gaze, each daring the other to make the next move of authority. Rikku shook herself out of her daze and glanced back and forth at the two of them.

"Alright," she finally said. "Let's get inside and talk about this." Micheal glanced at her as she stared seriously at Gippal before turning back into the tent. Gippal's eye flashed back to Rikku, and they stood there silently for a moment before Rikku turned and followed Micheal back into the tent.

_

* * *

_

"I still don't get it," Micheal said an hour and a half later as he rubbed his tired face. It was past midnight and they were still trying to get Gippal to explain the attack.

"What's there to get?" Gippal said casually from his position flopped over the arms of an armchair. "Someone shot at me. They missed. End of story." He had been regretting the words ever since they left his lips when he admitted that he had been attacked, because now Wonder Boy was trying to play super hero and find the bad guy while protecting poor, innocent little Gippal.

_Fuck that,_ Gippal thought sourly, taking another swig from his beer and rolling his eye. Rikku, despite her earlier irritation at being knocked over and pushed to the ground by Gippal, was showing signs of being concerned. She chewed on her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the floor and thinking aloud.

"No, Micheal's right," she said again.

_Of course he is,_ Gippal thought bitterly again, taking another drink.

"We found the crossbow bolts, and I can see that tear in your shirt," she looked meaningfully at Gippal who lifted his left arm lazily.

"What, this?" he drawled, clearly uninterested. "Old shirt, totally expendable."

"You know what I'm talking about!" Rikku said irritably. "Obviously, someone tried to kill you. You said so yourself."

"And I'm regretting it with every passing moment." He said with rising irritation. "I don't see why you're trying to make this your problem. Whoever it was shot as badly as a blind ottsel in the dark, and they'd be as stupid as a lupine at a Kilikan Barbeque to stick around here after that."

"Even if they have left, which my scouts and I agree that they have..." Micheal interjected slowly. "That doesn't mean they won't try again. Even after you leave here, they could be following you. Don't you have any idea who it might be?"

"Nope," Gippal lied as he tipped back his beer bottle casually. Of course he knew who it was, but there was no way in hell he was about to relate the whole sorry story about New Yevon trying to repossess the temple to Wonder Boy over there. For months, he and Cid had debated what their next move would be. He should have counted on this.

"You're lying," Rikku stated bluntly, folding her arms over her chest again as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What, you think I'm such a jerk that I have that many enemies?"

"Actually, yes, I do."

"Probably because I'm the richest man in Spira!" Gippal said playfully with a wink.

"No you're not, that'd be Rin," Rikku said, matter-of-factly.

"Psh." Gippal waved her away.

"But seriously," Micheal interjected. "You _are_ the Machine Faction Leader..."

"Ixion, I'm getting sick of this," Gippal said, standing up. "Even if I knew what it was about, I wouldn't know who it was and it doesn't matter. Just about anyone can hire an assassin these days." Gippal turned toward the kitchen and tried to ignore the sickening memory of a tight, red leather business suit.

"It could have been that guy whose ass I kicked on poker night at _The Seventh Heaven_ for all I know," Gippal shrugged his shoulders and tried to stay nonchalant. The last thing he needed was word spreading about the faction getting in deep with Yevon. People were putting faith in him, and he couldn't let his whole team down, especially now when the Al Bhed were making such advances and depended on him as a leader.

Rikku was still eyeing him skeptically as he leaned against the counter and winked at her. Meanwhile, Micheal was suggesting a "house arrest" until they could call in some guards to escort Gippal to the next site. Gippal's attention immediately snapped back to the conversation as his pride flared up.

"Whoa there buddy," he warned. "I don't need no 'mollycoddling,' got that? I take care of me, myself, and I."

"Gippal, quit being such a jerk and listen to reason," Rikku snapped. Gippal turned his angry glare on her and she didn't look away.

"I'm not saying that you're a wimp, okay?" she started, suddenly looking very tired. "But you have to take better care of yourself..."

Gippal regarded her silently as she let her eyes drop to the floor. Micheal glanced between them before clearing his throat.

"Okay, you're the boss, but I'll call ahead to the Central guys and let them know you're coming. That way, if something happens..."

"Nothing is going to happen, okay?" Gippal was thoroughly irritated by now. "I'm going to finish the inspection of the ruins of Home as planned. After that, I'm out of here." Micheal set his jaw again and Gippal turned his attention back to Rikku.

"And you're going back to the Eastern Expanse first thing in the morning. Tell Nhadala to get her ass off those damned reports so that she can do her job here."

"Wait a minute!" Rikku perked up again. "I thought you brought me along to study the ruins of Home? We haven't even visited there yet!"

"I don't need any help looking at some old ruins," he said icily, turning toward the door so that he didn't have to see her downcast face. "You've got too many emotional attachments there, anyway."

"And what's that supposed to mean!" she shouted angrily at him as he stepped toward the door. "I have to be a cold, unfeeling jerk like you to be able to make sense of some 'old ruins?' If anyone doesn't have a hold of their emotions around here, it's you!"

Gippal froze in his tracks at this last bit and didn't dare turn to face her. He knew that the moment he saw her, near tears as she sounded, he might do something unforgivable, like kiss her again. Irritated afresh by his own weakness, he strode purposefully out of the tent, leaving Rikku to dry her own tears.

* * *

**A/N:** Did anyone pick up on my obscure little references to other games in here? "Seventh Heaven" should have been a big tip off to my favorite game, and I made a reference to my latest obsession that includes a cute little orange "ottsel." ;)

Also, I once planned a "campfire scene" for this chapter during which I would try to explain the current political scene. This never worked out as I found it redundant and awkward to fit in here. Plus, I think that we all know enough about Yevon to figure that the old cootsare just as evil as ever without giving it the once-over.

**-P**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I did not create nor do I own Final Fantasy X-2 (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	11. A Little Complicated, Part 2

Chapter 11  
A Little Complicated  
Part 2

* * *

Rikku fought with the tent flap of her room, batting at it as she couldn't find the zipper in the dark. She was already tired and frustrated from the events of the evening, namely the attempted assassination of Gippal, and felt like she was sleeping on her feet. 

_Leave it to Gippal to take his own life about as seriously as a hang nail..._Rikku internally griped.

Finally she grasped the zipper and tugged it irritably upwards, almost giving herself an uppercut to the nose in the process. She stomped into the room, too impatient to zip the door up again. The wind was considerably calm that night and wouldn't blow into the tent anyway– a brief reprieve from the sandstorms that usually plagued the Southern Expanse.

Rikku flung herself unceremoniously onto her tiny cot and buried her face in her pillow. It had been a long, long day. She could hardly believe that it was just earlier that morning when she and Gippal had arrived at the Southern Expanse, and in that short time frame she had flipped between angry and confused more times than Brother on a Cactuar Hunt.

Rikku almost giggled at the thought. _I'd rather take 1000 Needles to the face than listen to Gippal pick another fight with Micheal..._

She sobered as her thoughts drifted to Gippal for the umpteenth time that day. Even after six months of pushing him out of her head, she had felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw him strolling toward her with that lazy grin on his face in the Eastern Expanse the day before.

Rikku groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. After everything she had done to make herself more independent– leaving her father's ship, leading the crew in the Eastern Expanse– Gippal still looked at her like a helpless little girl every time. Memories of Yuna's wedding day rose to her mind, and she remembered her frustration and embarrassment as Gippal scolded her and made her jealous by flirting with that floozy brunette.

'_Floozy brunette...'_ Rikku wondered slowly as she pulled the pillow off of her face and hugged it to her chest. She vaguely recalled another brunette that she had last seen Gippal with. Suddenly she remembered her little "apple accident" in the middle of the busy Lucan marketplace, and the red leather-clad snob that had called her "Gippal's little secretary."

Irritated at the mere memory, Rikku wondered what had happened to that woman.

_Probably just another one-night stand_, she rolled her eyes. _It's just like what Paine said, _"He's about as careless with his women as he is with his alcohol." _No wonder people are trying to kill him..._

Suddenly feeling guilty about the callousness of her own thoughts, she frowned and curled up on her side, still hugging the pillow. She still couldn't accept Paine's version of an "Evil Gippal." Her thoughts traveled back to earlier that afternoon. He had kissed _her_, after all, but that didn't mean that he was trying to use her for anything...

"_You can't just use me for a quick fix, you got that!"_

"_I don't know what I was thinking anymore than you do..."_

Rikku cringed. He didn't think of _her_ as just another "one-night stand," did he?

"_Rikku..."_

_"I don't know what I was thinking..."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"Ugh!" Rikku chucked her pillow at the tent wall, which absorbed the blow with a soft thud only to irritate her further. How could she feel like she had known him almost her whole life? Paine was right– she didn't know anything about the "real" Gippal. He hadn't grown up in Home; she actually had very few memories of him...

Rikku suddenly thought hard, trying to remember one of the few times he had visited Home. It was the day before he left to join the Crimson Squad. She had been 12 years old and sneaked into barracks where the older Al Bhed kids were having a party.

"Well if it isn't Cid's Little Girl!" he had walked up to her and ruffled her hair. He smelled strongly of alcohol, and Rikku fought a blush as he grinned down at her. She could see why all her friends had gushed about this tanned and chiseled older boy who came in with the excavation ships once every few months. And he knew her name. Well, kind of.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doin' down here?" His eyepatch completed his "bad boy" image, and Rikku suddenly knew why her nerdy older Brother always griped about Gippal "getting all the girls."

Before Rikku could answer him, however, he was swept away again by the boisterous crowd and she had to slip out before she was identified again. She, like all the other teenage Al Bhed girls back in the day, crushed on the "Al Bhed Hero" who went to join the battle against Sin. There were more Al Bhed boys who went to war, but Gippal stood out like a star athlete on the home team.

Everyone loved him. Maybe that was why she had such a hard time absorbing Paine's description of the dark, hardened soldier who didn't think twice about beating two men nearly to death in the middle of a busy marketplace. She had no idea what life had been like in the Crusader and Crimson armies, although it was she and her friends who had finally gone to the final battle with Sin.

She thought back to those days when she had masked her inner turmoil and depression over her cousin's impending death with a cheery attitude. Maybe that's what Gippal did, too– joked and flirted and drank to hide something much more painful.

_But he's not like that at all,_ Rikku insisted to herself. _It's not like he gets slobbering drunk and screws anything that moves... _Rikku closed her eyes.

_But someone's still trying to kill him, no matter how much he's changed..._

A sound near the doorway made Rikku start. Her eyes snapped open and she rolled over in the bed to stare at the open tent flaps. They fluttered harmlessly in the breeze.

Rikku groaned again and figured that she should probably get up and close them before another sandstorm decided to pick up. As she rose to cross the room and zip the flaps, she heard another sound from the corner near the door. A soft click.

"Wha..." Rikku squinted into the shadows of the tent. Her eyes widened as she recognized the figure that stepped into the lamplight.

"Y, _you_!"

* * *

Gippal lay on his back in the dark of his tent, trying to will himself into unconsciousness while he knew he wouldn't get any sleep that night. Someone was trying to kill him, after all. 

Gippal snorted at this. _"Someone" indeed_. _Someone who works for New Yevon. Someone who squeezes into tacky red leather and "negotiates" over silk sheets and a crossbow_...

He supposed he should consider himself lucky for that day in Luca when he left Anje to beat the crap out of those two bouncers. If Rikku hadn't incurred their wrath, he would have tried to charm Anje and most likely would have been discovered dead the next morning.

He hadn't pegged her for an assassin then, but now he was almost certain that it was she who had shot at him just hours ago. The whole "negotiation" front was just a ploy to cover Yevon's tracks. Once Anje had gotten his signatures, he was sure that he would have been dead before he had even dropped the pen.

Gippal was suddenly roused from his bitter musings to the sounds of commotion outside. He could hear distant shouts and saw the shadows of people running with lanterns past the thin material of his tent.

_What the..._

He jumped up immediately and made sure to grab his pistol from the night stand before rushing out of the tent. Outside, the air was very cool but there was smoke hanging in the air. Gippal ran after some crew members toward the center of the camp and saw flames rising into the air. People were hauling water from wherever they could find it to douse the flames that were quickly devouring one of the flimsy tents.

After a few numb and confusing moments, a distant thought began to trickle into the back of Gippal's mind– the tent was Rikku's.

Seized with sudden panic, Gippal shoved his way toward the blaze. His vision became tunneled and he was vaguely aware of someone shouting his name, but the only thing he could think of was getting to the crumbling tent.

Someone grabbed his arms from behind and jerked him backward, forcing him to drop his gun. Gippal wasted precious seconds yanking his arms free and whirring around to punch the person behind him. Barely noticing the sting in his knuckles, he turned back to the tent quickly to find the pitch fallen and the remains smoldering on the ground.

_No_, he thought fiercely, ignoring a stinging sensation in his eye as he shoved people aside and staggered toward the remains. _No, no, _no.

It had gone up quickly, and although crew members were trained to always be alert for a fire, they had not been fast enough. The charred material clung to the remains of furniture like a body bag.

Gippal could make out the shape of a cot underneath the charred fabric and staggered toward it with the numb idea of finding out who was sleeping in it. Someone grabbed his arm again, but his head was too fuzzy to react before he was clubbed over the head and lost consciousness.

* * *

Gippal slowly opened his eye and immediately groaned as a wave of pain pounded through his head. He felt like he had fallen down a flight of stairs or gotten supremely drunk. Or both. 

"Okay," said a soft voice not far from where Gippal lay. He had to strain to hear the conversation near the door of the tent.

"Just keep looking. Send out the excavation teams to the surrounding dig sites, and take one of the hoovers to the Eastern Expanse to alert director Nhadala. The Machine Faction Leader needs to rest..."

"Yes, sir."

"And..." the first voice hesitated. "Use my telesphere to contact Captain Cid. He should still be aboard the submarine. He'll need to know about this."

"Yes, sir."

Immediately, Gippal opened his eye again and sat up, ignoring the pain that exploded in his head from the sudden movements. He recognized the room as Micheal's tent, and saw the man watching him warily near the doorway.

"Where's Rikku!" Gippal snarled as Micheal moved to make him lie down again.

"She not here," the taller man said steadily. Gippal noticed that Micheal's right eye was slightly swollen and bruised. He suddenly connected the injury to the throbbing pain in his left fist.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'she's not here'– not in this tent, or not in this world completely?"

"Just calm down..."

"Don't tell me to _calm the fuck down_! Tell me where she is!"

Gippal had jumped up in his rage with the intent of throttling the information out of Micheal's pretty boy neck, but the exertion made stars explode in his vision and he staggered. He felt Micheal's hand on his forearm to steady him, but he viscously threw him off.

"I mean she wasn't in the tent that caught fire," Micheal explained after a moment. "We checked the site for... remains, but there were none."

Gippal sat with his head clutched in his hands as he absorbed this information. Micheal regarded him coolly, ready to subdue the Machine Faction Leader if he lost control again.

"Then where the fuck is she," Gippal asked again thickly, not bothering to lift his head.

Micheal said nothing, and Gippal rubbed the back of his head and felt the open wound where Micheal had hit him with the butt of his own pistol. He had completely lost it when he imagined Rikku in that tent, and he knew that he would have run straight into the blaze if Micheal had not stopped him.

Instead of offering thanks, Gippal stood up again. Micheal made no move to stop him this time, and instead watched as the rough and worn Al Bhed man walked slowly to the door.

"You know where she is, don't you?" he called out as Gippal reached the doorway. Gippal stopped and stared past the open tent flaps and across the dark dunes.

"I know who to ask," he answered dully.

Gippal entered his tent for the third time that night feeling as though he would like nothing more than to spend the next 20 years unconscious. He moved mechanically about the room, withdrawing weapons from drawers and strapping on his body armor. He had no idea where to start looking for Anje, but he felt that as long as he was moving that he would think of something.

_Think of _something He closed his eye again and rubbed his face vigorously. _New Yevon, Bevelle... the temples– Ixion, just think of something..._!

Frustrated, he suddenly opened his eye and stared around the room. He noticed something sticking out of the pillow on his bed. A crossbow bolt.

He hurried over to the bed and viciously ripped the bolt out of the pillow, throwing feathers into the air in the process. The bolt had pinned a piece of paper to the pillow, and he read the note carefully. It was very simple:

"_Come alone to the Baaj Temple. Your Al Bhed Princess awaits."_

**

* * *

A/N:** If anyone is curious about why Gippal was leaving to join the Crimson Squad at age 18 (when Rikku was only 12 and Braska's Calm was still in effect), then just consider how everyone knew the calm would come to an end eventually. People had time to prepare for the inevitable end of 10 years. 

I also believe that when Gippal mentions (in Crimson Sphere 1) that he originally wanted to join the Crusaders, it was like a childhood dream that he realized would never happen (they don't take Al Bhed). So when he was old enough and still wanted to help, he did the next best thing and joined the army, training to be in the Crimson Squad (which he joined three/four years later in that fateful final exercise).

**-P**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	12. A Little Complicated, Part 3

**A/N**: You will quickly encounter something peculiar about the telespheres. I snagged the idea from Melanie Rawn's Mage globes. (**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Exiles_ (other than copies of the books, which I bought from Barnes and Noble), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to Melanie Rawn and her publishers, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!)

**-P**

* * *

Chapter 12  
A Little Complicated  
Part 3

* * *

Gippal spent a restless night pacing his tent and sending telegrams through his telesphere, an occupation devised more to keep himself busy until morning than to fulfill any obligations of keeping people informed. He had contacted Cid first, all the while thanking whatever was holy that the telegrams weren't sophisticated enough for direct communication, like Shinra's original commsphere network. 

"_Camp inspections fine; Nhadala in charge. Rikku missing, gone to find her. /report"_

He tried to make the dirty deed of informing her father of her disappearance as quick and painless as possible, but he knew that as soon as Cid discovered both his and Micheal's reports, Gippal's head would be hunted.

Ignoring that unpleasant fact for the time being, Gippal sent brief reports to Nhadala, informing her of her duty to finish the inspection, along with his crew members at Djose, letting them know that he would be gone for some time.

"_Some _time, that's an understatement," Gippal muttered to himself grimly as he sent the message on its way. He hadn't even secured a way to Baaj Temple yet, but that was what his next message would take care of.

Of course he had saved the hardest one for last. It seemed even more painful to compose than the one he had sent to Cid, because this time he was asking for help and it was from one of the last people on earth he wanted to be caught begging it from.

"_Brother, I need your ship– it's urgent. Going to Baaj Temple. Report back ASAP. /order"_

Gippal scowled as he scribbled the note in Al Bhed onto a piece of paper and stuffed it into the glowing sphere. He watched as it magically zipped out of sight to its receiving sphere.

Now all he could do was wait... Gippal ran one hand through his stiff hair and vaguely noted that it needed washing. Not exactly up to a shower at the moment and deprived of any more busy work, he tried to relax into an armchair. He hadn't slept since the day before and he knew his body was tired, but his mind was running in frantic circles as he ticked off items on his mental "To-Do" list:

_Go to the temple, find Rikku, kill Anje. Go to Bevelle, kill Yevon scum, go to prison... _

Gippal groaned and rubbed his face vigorously. Either way, he was screwed. He knew he had to rescue Rikku, but what happened after that? Yevon was still after him, and most likely his "negotiation" with Anje would involve him trading his life for Rikku's...

Before he could sink any deeper into this internal argument, the tent flaps parted and Micheal entered the room. Gippal spared him a glance before rising from his chair and crossing the room to a desk. He picked up a stack of folders and turned to Micheal.

"Here ya go, your inspection results," Gippal tried to sound nonchalant, like his life hadn't just been threatened and Rikku hadn't just been kidnapped by the assassin.

"I'm going to put off the inspection of Home until next year," he went on, crossing the room to put the folders in Micheal's hand, who was eyeing Gippal curiously. The purple bruise that Gippal had inflicted beneath his eye had only swollen, giving him a particularly nasty wince. Gippal ignored this.

"I've already notified Nhadala about inspecting the Central Expanse, so don't worry about passing along the information. I'll be leaving here soon."

"To find Rikku," Micheal finished, unperturbed by Gippal's attempt to remain cool. Gippal bit the inside of his cheek until it stung. He was determined to remain in control.

"This is no longer any of your business," Gippal finally managed, unclenching his teeth as he turned his back to Micheal again. "I expect you to report back to your duty, which pertains to this camp and _only_ this camp. You are excused."

When he heard no sound of Micheal obeying his order, Gippal turned back to face him, quickly losing his patience.

"Did you understand me or do I need to break it down for you?" he spat. "Leave. Now."

Micheal just crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. Gippal noticed that he was holding something alongside the files he had just given him.

"Yes, _sir_," Micheal said finally, measuring his words carefully. "I won't question your plans of action. I... know that you are the best man for the job."

_You're damn straight I am..._ Gippal thought with a smirk. Meanwhile, Micheal looked tired– a condition that did not suit his normally handsome features well, Gippal noted. The ugly bruise only served to enhance his haggard appearance that had gotten about as much sleep as Gippal had, which was to say none.

Micheal looked at the Machine Faction Leader who was undoubtably as stressed and sleepless as he was over the whole incident, but instead of reflecting that weariness, he looked more refined and determined than ever. He had to respect the arrogant man for that.

"My scouts have found some items that may still be of interest to you," Micheal spoke up again, breaking the brooding silence between them. He handed Gippal a sphere.

"That was found underneath the rubble in the excavation site, which is to say the ruins of the old Al Bhed Home." Gippal wasted a moment being irritated by the casual way this interloper regarded the destruction of Home, but didn't bother with a scathing reprimand. The man looked tired enough.

"It appears to be a surveillance sphere, recording the last moments of the Guado attack before the explosion," Micheal went on. "We've been collecting spheres like these in hopes of finding structural clues to base a blueprint upon, and I thought that you might pass it along to Captain Cid."

"Yeah, sure," Gippal said mechanically, turning the cracked sphere over in his hand absentmindedly. He didn't think he would be seeing Cid any time soon.

"And..." Micheal continued, noticing the darkening look in Gippal's features. "We found this near... the initial attack scene." Gippal looked up to find Micheal offering him the broken compass.

"I sent some scouts back to the scene of your attack to search for more clues, but I figured that this was yours."

"How's that?" Gippal's voice was gruff as he snatched the compass out of Micheal's extended hand.

"I noticed the inscription in Al Bhed on the back," Micheal said carefully, watching Gippal closely. "I doubt that your attacker..." he paused, unwilling to say "Rikku's kidnapper."

"I doubt that they would be carrying such a thing," he finished quickly.

Gippal was silent for a moment, and Micheal wondered if he had struck a nerve. He couldn't help but notice that the compass was broken and appeared to have been so for quite some time. He wasn't sure of the sentimental value this held for the Machine Faction Leader.

"Good," Gippal said finally, voice thickening with emotion. He turned his back to Micheal in the universal signal for dismissal.

"That is all I require of you now. Please leave."

Micheal dared to stand there a moment longer, staring at the Machine Faction Leader's back. He knew that this apparently callous man hid real feelings beneath his rough exterior, feelings that would lead him to save Rikku no matter the cost.

Gippal waited for the swish of the tent flaps to tell him that Micheal was gone. He walked across the room to his desk and set both the compass and the sphere on its surface, freeing his hands to rub his tired face. The sphere glowed softly, and Gippal stared at it for a moment before picking it up again. The ultimate purpose of his work at Djose and in the desert was to raise money to rebuild Home. This site, however, was specifically geared toward the actual building rather than simply fund raising.

Gippal sighed again and carried the sphere with him as he walked across the room and sat on the edge of his bed. The duties of his job seemed like such a distant idea now, what with Yevon's latest interferences and now Rikku...

Gippal unconsciously balled his fists at this thought, squeezing the sphere in the process. The pressure triggered the play-back mode of the recording, and Gippal watched as the sphere projected its contents before him.

The sphere had definitely been damaged in the explosion, resulting in the loss of most of its memory, but it still retained the last few moments of its surveillance. Gippal immediately recognized the metal hallways of Home, despite the fact that he had only visited the place half a dozen times and that the hallways he now viewed were filled with smoke and fire.

He watched as two Al Bhed men ran down the corridor and encountered an invading Guado. They shouted as the Guado summoned a large, fire-breathing beast before drawing their rifles and firing at the creature. Gippal's stomach turned as the monster bore down on the two men. He was grateful that the sound record had also beeen destroyed, sparing him the sounds of their agonized screams.

As their pyreflies disappeared, Gippal was just about to decide that this sphere was worthless as a blueprint source when several more figures ran down the corridor. Gippal watched closely as this new group encountered the monster and picked up the fight.

At first, Gippal could only see one of the figures clearly– he was a young, blonde man wielding a sword, and looking especially familiar...

Before Gippal could place him, another figure darted into the foreground and swung a massive sword at the monster. This one he recognized with a grin.

_Auron._

A waterga spell crashed over the monster, which appeared to howl in pain. Gippal noticed the black mage from Besaid, Yuna's guardian Lulu that he remembered from the wedding. Suddenly he was able to place a name on the angry-looking blonde man who had just rushed forward to attack again. This had to be Tidus, Yuna's new husband whom he had just recently been introduced to.

"All of Yuna's guardians," Gippal murmured as he watched Tidus step back and allow a red-haired blitzball player to heave a spiked ball at the creature.

_That's right, Auron told me that they were looking for Yuna. That was back when the Al Bhed were trying to spare the Summoners... _

Gippal watched as the monster disappeared in a flurry of pyreflies. The party had been crowded around a stairwell and now pushed their way down the burning hallway, giving Gippal a clearer view of them as they neared the surveillance sphere. Gippal steeled himself.

Rikku was the last to run up the stairs after the group, and Tidus appeared to be waiting for her to guide them to where Yuna was being kept. The young man looked extremely impatient as Rikku gestured down the hallway. Before they could proceed, however, another Guado arrived on the scene, and the party immediately took up battle positions. Rikku crouched near the floor next to Tidus, working furiously with some items as Auron took another swing at the new onslaught of monsters.

"She looks so young..." he murmured as she stood up, waiting for her turn to join the fray.

He watched in a trance as the party battled their way through the burning hallway. Rikku wiped the dust and sweat off of her forehead and used an Al Bhed potion on her team members. Gippal could hardly remind himself that the steady, determined girl he was watching was Cid's whiny, clumsy little girl.

_Two years ago, she fought Sin with Yuna and the others_, Gippal thought to himself. _Back when I heard about it, I couldn't believe that Cid was letting his 15 year old daughter fight such a battle. I guess I was the only one who underestimated her..._

The screen flickered as pyreflies wafted up from the battle below where the surveillance sphere was mounted on the wall. The last of the monsters had just collapsed, and the party wasted no time in hurrying down the hall. The floor was shaking with another distant explosion as Rikku led the way past the sphere, disappearing from the recorded line of sight. It was only a few moments after the party had moved on that another explosion rocked the sphere from its perch, causing it to crash to the ground and cease recording.

Gippal sat for a few more moments, staring at the blank sphere before shaking himself back to reality. He stood and stretched, the sphere still clutched in his hand as he walked back to the desk to set it back down. There was no reason for him to take it with him to Baaj Temple, where he would confront Anje. Maybe Micheal would find it and send it along to Cid.

_No_, Gippal thought suddenly with renewed determination. _I'll give it to _Rikku_ when I bring her back home. _Before he had seen the sphere, Gippal had been prepared to leave with Anje without a fight, as long as it ensured Rikku's safety. Now he was sure that Rikku wasn't just another damsel in distress. She would never let him give up the Al Bhed fight for independence from Yevon's stigmas so easily.

With a slight smirk, Gippal reached for the compass.

"I'll find a way, Rikku" Gippal murmured as he ran his thumb over the cracked face plate. "Just wait for me."

**

* * *

A/N:** I apologize, but it may be some time before my next update. My internet is being disconnected for an indeterminate amount of time, and I still go to college and have a job. I also have a literary magazine to produce by this spring (being an editor sucks up most of my free time), so please don't be alarmed if it takes me a month between updates! 

I still love this story and it takes precedence over all others (we're also coming up on a _very_ interesting plot-thickener involving the rescue attempt and impending war between the Al Bhed and New Yevon, not to mention Gippal and Rikku's blossoming romance ;). Hang in there with me!

**-P**

**

* * *

Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_(other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of! 


	13. A Little Opposition

Chapter 13

A Little Opposition

* * *

Gippal stood aboard the _Celicus_, arms crossed and diverted gaze projecting annoyance as everyone stared at him expectantly. He had not been pleased with the initial long wait that he suspected Brother had inflicted on him on purpose, but he had nearly boiled over when he had finally boarded and was assaulted with the angry and concerned questions of Yuna, Brother, Tidus, and, most unfortunately, Cid.

"Whaddaya _mean_, 'Rikku missing?'" the old pilot bellowed, alluding to Gippal's earlier message. "Michael said that she's been kidnapped– _you let my little girl get kidnapped?_"

Before Cid could burst a blood vessel, Yuna stepped forward, but the anxiety written all over her features was almost as assaulting as Cid's smoldering anger.

"Gippal, please, do you know what's happened to her? Brother said that you were heading to Baaj Temple..."

"That's Anima's temple, right Yuna?" Tidus offered, and Gippal noticed the blonde man for the first time as he stood beside his wife and held her hand supportively. "That old ruin is where I landed when Sin... when I first got here." He faltered for only a moment before shaking his head. "I can't see why anyone would drag Rikku to a place like that, unless they wanted to drown her or freeze her to death..."

Gippal's eye narrowed and he refused to look anyone in the face. "They've taken her... to get to me," he said gruffly, and he could just feel Cid's blood pressure spike.

"I _knew_ it!" Brother screeched, arms flapping around wildly. "I knew you is– I _knew_..." Brother sputtered in his anger for the right words, finally abandoning the common language and reverting to Al Bhed. "_E ghaf ed fyc ouin vyimd!_" ("I knew it was your fault!")

Gippal still would not meet anyone's eye. "You're right, it _is_ my fault, Brother..." Yuna nearly gasped. She had never heard Gippal concede to anyone before, let alone Brother. Brother's jaw just hung open.

"Cid, it was... that one I told you about before," Gippal tried to explain as little as possible. "Yevon is still pissed, and they sent an assassin..."

"_Whaaat?_" Brother screeched again. This time Buddy clamped a hand over his best friend's mouth and tried to drag him back to his pilot's seat. Yuna didn't seem to notice as she picked up the thread of inquiry.

"What do you mean, 'assassin?' Someone is trying to kill you and Rikku?" Yuna looked desperately from Cid's smoldering glare to Gippal's scowl directed at the floor.

"I think we had better hear this story from the beginning," a cool voice suddenly interjected into the stifling silence. Everyone nearly jumped as they turned to stare at Paine, who had so far been quiet as a shadow in the corner of the room. She was staring pointedly at Gippal with a look of near-loathing in her eyes that almost frightened Yuna. Gippal just narrowed his eye at her and held her gaze, but Yuna forced herself to nod quickly.

"Yes, I think that would be best. Please, Gippal, tell us what is going on here..."

"So, Yevon is trying to reclaim Djose temple, but you told them to go to hell, so they sent the lawyer to kill you, but she kidnaped Rikku instead?" Tidus scratched the back of his head with his face screwed up in concentration. "Yuna told me all about Yevon still playing dirty, but this just doesn't make sense."

Gippal had grudgingly revealed the whole story of Anje and her "negotiations" concerning Djose property rights, along with his attempted assassination and Rikku's kidnaping. Cid had grumbled something about needing to think and had stalked off to the engine room. Buddy had been unable to keep Brother from interrupting in sporadic Al Bhed and had locked him out on the deck while everyone else conversed in the cabin.

"Racial discrimination _never_ made sense," Buddy replied darkly to Tidus's confusion. "They've had it out for us Al Bhed for centuries."

"All this, just because they hate the Al Bhed?" Yuna wondered aloud. She had been pacing back and forth since Gippal had finished his story. "But why are they targeting Gippal specifically?"

"Because he's the Machine Faction Leader," Paine drawled in her typical monotone. "A centerpiece in the Al Bhed community. Add that to the fact that he's... _connected_ to the Al Bhed Leader's daughter..." Gippal scowled at her emphasis on the word "connected" but didn't say anything. Paine regarded him cooly.

"They're killing two birds with one stone," she finished succinctly.

"But..." Tidus looked more confused than ever. "It's like they're picking a fight just for the heck of it. So what if they hate the Al Bhed..." This earned him a scowl from everyone in the room, and he quickly waved his hands in front of his face defensively.

"No no, that's not what I meant!" he said hurriedly, withering under the glare of his inter-racial wife. "It's just, 'hate' doesn't seem like a good enough reason, especially since we know first hand about Yevon's hidden agendas..."

"What do you think this 'property war' is all about?" Buddy scoffed. Yuna eyed him curiously. The normally optimistic navigator had been brooding in an especially bad mood since he heard the news of Rikku's kidnapping.

"Hate makes war," the dark Al Bhed went on, addressing Tidus. "Don't you remember the incident between the Youth League and New Yevon in Kilika?"

"Uh, no, actually..." Tidus said honestly, color rising to his cheeks.

"Never mind about that," Yuna said quickly. "We need to be focusing on finding Rikku first, then we can wonder about the implications." Everyone could see her easing back into "leader" mode as she turned her attention to Gippal, whom everyone had nearly forgotten as he leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed as he listened to the old Gullwing crew hash it out in front of him. He looked Yuna steadily in the eye as she addressed him.

"You said that you found a note from this Anje, the envoy from Bevelle who you think is also the kidnaper and your attempted assassin. Did it say anything else, other than where they went?"

"Yeah," Gippal said, his voice gruff as he dragged himself out of his reverie. Paine was still watching him closely, and he knew it but continued to address Yuna.

"It said 'come alone,'" he said, pushing off from his position near the doorway. He strode across the bridge to stand directly in front of Yuna, challenging her with his cold stare. "And as soon as you all decide that you've wasted enough time, I'll be leaving to do just that."

"What?" Yuna said, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "It's obviously a trap! If she really is after you, the last thing you should be doing is doing exactly as she says!"

"And what the fuck am I supposed to do?" Gippal shot back bitterly, causing Yuna to recoil slightly. Tidus was scowling at him as he stepped forward to brush his hand on his wife's forearm. Gippal inwardly winced at his angry outburst at the High Summoner. He knew that she was just as concerned for Rikku's safety as he was.

_Ixion knows she has more of a claim on her than I do_, Gippal thought, suddenly weary as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to clear his pounding headache. His lack of sleep was definitely beginning to catch up to him.

"Forget it. This was a bad fucking idea, to tell you all this." He turned away from Yuna to avoid looking her in the eyes again as he tried to regain control of the situation and addressed the navigator. "Buddy, get Brother back in here and take me to Baaj."

Buddy just crossed his arms and stared down the Machine Faction Leader. "I ain't a member of your faction, _Mr. Leader_." Gippal paused, momentarily stunned at Buddy's unusual show of irritation. He was surprised, as he and Buddy usually got along on okay terms. Now he felt like more of an outsider than ever.

"I ain't much more fond of you than Brother right now," Buddy went on as Gippal only glared at him. "And I don't think we'll be taking orders from someone who not only got his ass in deep with Yevon, but dragged the rest of us along with him."

Yuna's anxiety returned as Gippal's upper lip curled and he looked like he was about to snarl at Buddy when Paine interrupted again.

"I agree with Gippal," she said simply. Everyone in the room turned to stare at her in varying expressions of disbelief as Paine looked directly at Gippal with a trace of a smile.

"You... Paine, what?" Yuna fumbled, still shocked that Paine was actually agreeing with Gippal. She hadn't had to see the two of them in one room together for very long to know that Paine did not approve very strongly of anything that Gippal did or said. "Paine, if he goes alone, the assassin will have them both! That's what she wants!"

"We can't ignore the kidnaper, Yuna," Paine went on cooly, still watching Gippal's darkening expression with a smirk. "I think giving her what she wants is _exactly_ what we need to do." Gippal did not miss the glint in Paine's eye or the small twitch at the corner of her mouth. He knew Paine well enough to know that she was plotting something.

"Paine," Yuna queried cautiously, appearing not to notice the silent exchange between the two ex-Crimson Squad members. "We just _can't_ make him do this alone... What if she has allies? She could kill them both!"

Paine spared her fellow Gullwing a glance. "Don't worry, Yuna. You think I'd trust a klutz like him with Rikku's life?" Yuna looked thoroughly baffled by now, and all eyes were on Paine.

"Get ready, Gippal," Paine said with a smirk. "We're going to bring down the house."

* * *

**A/N: **Cue cheesy one-liner! ;) Sorry, I just couldn't help myself– the game is just full of them, after all, and it really does have a place in the next chapter...

**-P**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_ (other than a copy of the game, which I bought at Best Buy), its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. In other words, I'm a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!


	14. A Little Rescue Mission

Chapter 14

A Little Rescue Mission

Gippal grit his teeth as he waded through the freezing water and fallen debris of Baaj Temple. Dusk had already fallen by the time he had been relieved of _The Celcius_ and its overbearing crew. Gippal rolled his eye as he recalled the moments before disembarking. Paine had walked with him to the exit ramp, a knowing smirk on her face.

"_What are you grinning about?"_

"_I just never saw you as the 'knight in shining armor' type, Gippal."_

"_Tch, you want me to just leave Rikku behind?"_

"_...You shouldn't have gotten her involved in your problems–"_

Gippal scowled as he started up a ruined staircase leading into the temple. He could hear the familiar whirring of a machine motor in the distance, and followed that as his target. A thick, chill fog swirled up to his knees as he picked his way through hallways filled with rubble. "The Yevonites are pretty lax on the security, for once," Gippal muttered to himself as he adjusted his grip on his pistol. He had opted for a smaller weapon over the weight of his usual shoulder-mounted canon, though he had yet to encounter so much as a fiend. The ominous rumblings of the unseen machina grew louder as he approached the inner chambers, however, and he felt himself growing tense.

_What's a working machina doing in a run-down ruin like this? _Gippal wondered to himself as he pressed on. _But this is Yevon, after allI shouldn't be surprised that they'd lend a weapon to one of their assassins… _He paused as he reached a large, arched doorway and crouched behind one of its heavy doors. It was slightly ajar and he could hear the rumbling and whirring of the machine in the next room. Gippal carefully pushed the door open a little wider, wincing as the ancient door creaked in resistance, although he doubted that anyone else could hear it over the machine. He poked his head through and quickly scanned the room beyond. It was no doubt the main chamber of the temple, with its high, domed ceiling and tiers supported by pillars.

He quickly found the source of the mechanical noise as his eyes went immediately to the huge, hulking form of a machina on the other side of the room, its shape and design reminiscent of the one his own mechanics had built at Djose. It was clearly a weapon, Gippal expertly assessed as he took in its large, pincer-like arms and mounted gattling guns. It stood nearly as high as the second tier as it idled in the shadows, seeming to wait for a command from its master. _If all I have to do is take apart that machina, this is going to be easier than I thought_, Gippal smirked as he crept silently into the room and crouched behind a nearby pillar. He drew his gun up to eye level and took aim at the sensitive joints under the machina's left arm, but nearly dropped his gun when he saw what was the arm was holding. Clutched tightly in its vice-like grip was the slight figure of Rikku, half-concealed in the shadows with her crimped, blonde hair falling over her face. She was fidgeting as the machine held her in the air with her arms pinned behind her back.

"Rikku!" Gippal hissed. Rikku's head snapped up and her gaze darted around the room, searching for him.

"Rikku, I'm here!" Gippal half-whispered, half-shouted over the rumbling of the machine. Rikku's eyes widened in fear as he stepped out of the shadow of the pillar and took a step toward her.

"Gippal, get away from here!" she hissed back as she turned her head to glance nervously at the tier behind her. "She's here!" Before Gippal could reply, a loud "kachunk" issued from the shadows of the second tier and a heavy gush of air flew through the air over Gippal's right shoulder. Gippal ducked quickly back behind the pillar and turned to find a crossbow bolt embedded halfway through the splintered door behind him.

"Finally come to rescue the damsel in distress?" a husky woman's voice mocked from a distance. Gippal's eye narrowed in loathing as he recognized the voice. "Just like a true gentleman, as promised," Anje sneered as she stepped out of the shadows, crossbow clutched in one tightly gloved hand. "You've come alone, I hope? But of course you wouldn't risk the life of your precious Al Bhed princess…"

"Typical for a Yevonite!" Gippal called out from behind the pillar. "I didn't come for a sermon, now let Rikku go!"

Anje tutted. "Of course you didn't, heathen, though I'm not much more interested in the teachings than you are. It's true I only came for your life, but a bonus like the Al Bhed leader's daughter can't be so easily passed up." Gippal's upper lip curled in a snarl as he pulled back the hammer on his pistol and raised it chest-level, tucking his elbows close and preparing to leap out from behind the pillar. Anje seemed to sense his movement. "I'm sure you imagine yourself to be the great hero, come to vanquish the evil antagonist, but if you even think of fighting back I'll set my sights on the girl," Anje replied languidly, shouldering her crossbow again. "It only takes one shot."

"Gippal!" Rikku cried out, and he winced at the panic in her voice. "Get out of here and call Yuna! It's not me they want it's-- " Rikku's sudden yelps of pain followed the grindings of several gears. Anje was controlling the machine and closed its vice grip on Rikku.

Several things happened all at once. Gippal dropped to one knee and pivoted out from behind the pillar. He took aim at the machine's left arm and fired. A device attached to his belt loop beeped but he ignored it as he swung back behind the pillar. As the circuitry of the damaged arm joint shorted out and the arm holding Rikku shuddered and disengaged, a sudden impact made the whole room shake. Gippal looked up at the ceiling where great slabs of concrete fell and crashed to the floor below. Anje snarled and rolled behind a pillar on her tier.

"I told you to come alone!" she screeched and shot another bolt at Gippal. It pierced the pillar he was hiding behind and knocked a chunk out of it, narrowly missing his head. The room was filled with dust from the falling concrete, and Gippal saw his chance. He darted out from behind the pillar and sprinted across the room to where the arm had dropped Rikku. Before he had gotten halfway across the room, another resounding impact shook the already unstable building. Pillars began to crumble and huge chunks of the ceiling fell to the ground. Rikku screamed and Gippal charged in her direction.

_Kachunk-chunk_. Gippal cried out and staggered as a white-hot pain exploded in his right kneecap. He fell to the ground and tried to shield his head from the falling debris. He couldn't see the sniper through the clouds of dust, and the sounds of the machine had been drowned out by the thundering rumble of the temple coming down. He had no idea where Rikku was. Burning with pain and rage, Gippal tried to stand. He felt a great gust of air, as if the domed ceiling had just been lifted off, but he didn't waste time looking. He crawled through the rubble, his wounded leg completely numb as he made his way closer to where he thought Rikku had fallen. Just as he thought he heard the motor of the machine again, a woman's feral shriek rang out and the sound of a deadly salvo of crossbow bolts whistled through the air. Gippal screamed as one found its mark and pain ruptured through his left shoulder blade.

The sound of a rushing wind now filled the room and the dust billowed out in clouds. Laying flat on the floor, Gippal craned his head up as distant shouting and gunfire rang out above him. His whole body seemed to be going numb, and he slowly laid his head back down on the sharp gravel that now coated the floor. A scampering of feet and something heavy seemed to collide with his rib cage. "Gippal!" a terrified voice was sobbing, very close now. "Gippal! Oh Ixion, this is bad! Please Gippal, say something!"

"Gerroff me," Gippal murmured with his face still pressed to the ground. Prodding little fingers kneaded the wound in his shoulder. A cacophony of shouting voices echoed all around him, but they all quickly faded into the background as he lost consciousness.

"Rikku! Is he okay?"

"Gippal, _please_!"

"…where's the kidnapper? Did we get her?"

"…jumped through the hole in the wall there, on the second tier…"

"_Gippal_!"

"…Rikku, it's going to be okay…"

"No, no! They were poisoned, she said"

"Rikku, let's go…"

"No!"

_Rikku…_


	15. A Little Team Effort

Chapter 15

A Little Team Effort

Rikku hoovered nervously near a corner of the room, bottom lip firmly clamped between her teeth as she tried to stay out of the way. It seemed like just moments ago that the_ Celcius_ had crashed through the roof of Baaj Temple and its crew had rappeled into the room where Anje had held Rikku hostage. When the ceiling had started to fall down in huge concrete chunks, Rikku had been too scared to move. That was before she heard Gippal's cries as Anje shot at him from above. "It's basilisk's venom, alright," she heard Yuna sigh from Gippal's bedside. They had managed to haul his unconscious body back to the ship and lay him on one of the spare beds above the bar. Rikku had nearly gone into hysterics when she saw the splintered bolt shafts jutting awkwardly out of Gippal's right kneecap and left shoulder. Paine had shunted her to the side while Yuna switched into White Mage mode. "I remember Lulu telling me about it back when we were on the pilgrimage," Yuna went on. Rikku shook herself and tried to listen. "The antidote should be prepared easily enough. We need the basilisk's hydra– we can get that from the snakes that live on the Djose Highroad– and the lemon flowers grow right there too. We can make it if we hurry."

"Wait a minute, basilisks?" Tidus blanched. "You mean those gigantic monsters that stone you?"

"What, afraid of a couple of snakes now, Mr. Guardian?" Paine crossed her arms smugly. "And it's 'petrify,' not 'stone.'"

"Yeah, you stoner!" Brother snickered at his own joke, but Rikku was still in shock. Now that the commotion had died down, she made her way weakly to where everyone was crowded around Gippal's bed. He was still unconscious and his shirt and armor had been removed so that Yuna could apply potions and wrap his wounds. The young summoner had done her best, but an antidote had to be applied before the wounds could be closed with a healing spell. Yuna glanced nervously at her cousin as Rikku wavered uncertainly at the foot of the bed. She stood up and walked to her side, wrapping her in a hug.

"Rikku, I was so worried," Yuna started, but Rikku just shook her head.

"We need to find the antidote, Yuna," Rikku struggled to keep the tremble out of her voice. "Don't worry about me, I'm not even hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Yuna now glared reproachfully at her cousin. "You're shaking and scratched up all over, you've just been kidnapped and nearly crushed to death– lay down here and let us take care of it." Yuna tried to steer Rikku toward another bed, but the younger girl wriggled out of her grasp.

"No, it's my fault– he came to rescue me..." Rikku's voice rose as tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. She had been extremely angry just hours ago as she nearly yelled herself hoarse while that demon woman held her captive, but all her adrenaline was exhausted and now she felt more helpless than ever. She knew that as soon as she stood still long enough she would lose it completely. "Djose Highroad, right?" she started again, attempting to sound determined as she wiped the backs of her hands across her eyes and smeared her dust-covered cheeks. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Paine stepped forward, arms still crossed over her chest but no longer looking smug. "This is not your fault, Rikku. Gippal dragged you into this and he's only got himself to blame."

"Paine..." Yuna started warily, hoping to pacify her old comrade.

"No, Yuna," Paine seemed to be smoldering with a previously pent-up anger. "He's got her thinking that she's brought this on herself while he's been misleading her–"

"Stop it!" Everyone stared at Rikku where she stood, fists curled into tiny balls at her sides while she visibly shook with anxiety. Paine stood glaring at the young girl but held her mouth clamped firmly shut. "That woman," Rikku started again, not daring to open her eyes for fear she might start crying and never stop. "She told me everything, about Yevon trying to take the temple and trying to destroy us Al Bhed. It's not Gippal's fault and I'm not going to let him die for it!" She opened her eyes now and glared fiercely at Paine, who only glared back. Tears ran freely down Rikku's cheeks but she looked more driven than broken. It was clear to everyone that she wasn't going to back down.

"So..." Tidus ventured after a tense moment of silence in the cabin. "I'll go with you, in case you get stoned." Brother giggled, but Yuna only nodded.

"Right, and I'll stay here to keep changing Gippal's bandages. The poison won't let his wounds close and he'll need a lot of dressing until you get back."

"I'm going with you," Paine said defiantly, still glaring at Rikku. Rikku only nodded.

"Well alrighty then," Cid said jovially, clapping his hands together and startling everyone. "I'll just steer us toward Djose and we'll get this show on the road!"

"Whaat?" Brother turned on his father, who was already starting down the stairs. "This is _my_ ship, mine! You are forgetting, _Vydran_, it is _I_ who will be doing the navigating around here!"

"Actually, that'll probably be me," Buddy said wearily as he started down after them. "They'll be arguing so much they'll probably drive us straight into Mount Gagazet before they even notice that they're going the wrong direction."

Yuna sighed as the sounds of Brother and Cid's argument in rapid Al Bhed faded down the hall before she smiled and turned to Rikku to give her another hug. "I'm going to go dig around in the engine room and see if I can find any more supplies. I'll never understand why Brother doesn't just build a proper supplies closet." She smiled reassuringly, and Rikku managed to smile weakly in return.

"Um, I'll go with you, Yuna," Tidus offered, with an odd glance at Rikku. "Give Rikku some time alone..." Paine snorted at this obvious cue to leave Rikku with Gippal, but left without a scathing reply. After Rikku heard the door below slide shut, she managed a deep exhale and nearly fell over face first onto the bed next to Gippal's. She lay there with her face pressed firmly into the starchy pillow and her arms down at her sides. She suddenly realized how exhausted she was. Being kidnapped out of the night and being nearly squeezed to death by a giant machina took more out of her than she was willing to admit.

"That looks incredibly uncomfortable." Rikku nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the wizened voice next to her. She rolled over so fast that she nearly fell off the bed. She stared incredulously at Gippal's weak smirk as he lay on his back on the bed next to hers.

"Gippal!" she gasped, clutching a hand to her chest as if it could slow her wildly beating heart. "Ixion, don't scare me like that!"

Gippal chuckled softly and closed his eye. "Did I scare you? Heh, and here I thought you'd be overjoyed to see me, that you'd be pouring over my bedside, stroking my face and begging me to wake up. Instead I _scare_ you." Rikku's face flushed painfully as Gippal cracked his eye and turned his head slightly to grin at her. It was clear that he was still in pain as he didn't dare move any more, and the sleepy look on his face made it seem like he was going to pass out at any minute, but that obviously did nothing to abate his apparent need to embarrass her. Rikku's anger swiftly returned.

"What's the matter with you, anyway?" she sputtered, sitting up on the edge of her bed next to him. "You call that a rescue attempt, just rush in there with guns blazing, could have gotten us both killed–"

"Geeze, Rikku, give it a rest," Gippal groaned and closed his eye, though he was still smiling. "And I _am_ dying."

"No, you're not!" Rikku challenged skeptically, though she did lean a little closer to him as he winced pitifully.

"I risk my neck for you, and all you can do is chastise me for not doing it right..."

"That's not what I meant..."

"...and now I lie here, mortally wounded–"

"...you're _not_ dying, you big baby..."

"...don't even get a kiss for saving the day..."

"...and you didn't even stop her, she got awa– ay..."

Rikku tripped over her last word as Gippal cracked his eye again and looked at her with a ghost of a smile. She stared back at him, willing the color away from her face as she tried to stay angry with him, but for once he didn't seem to be mocking her. She huffily crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, losing the battle with the capillaries in her face as her cheeks turned pink. Gippal raised his uninjured arm and rested it over hers. "As soon as this is over, you _do_ owe me one, you know," he said playfully.

"I don't owe you anything," Rikku insisted stubbornly, though she didn't make a move to misplace his arm.

"Haha, we'll see," he laughed weakly, drawing his arm back as he closed his eye and shifted a little to position himself more comfortably. "I don't suppose you could find it in your cold, hard heart to get me another pillow, could you?" Before Rikku could reply, she was nearly thrown off her bed when the ship suddenly shot forward. Glasses in the bar below shook and Rikku could hear Barkeep and Darling's piteous moans as the ship took off at full speed. "Fayth be damned, Brother did that on purpose," Gippal winced as he tried to scoot up further on his bed.

"He never did like you much," Rikku admitted as she picked herself up from where she had fallen across the bed. She stood up and stretched before sparing Gippal a glance. He was back to smiling at her again. "I'm going with Paine and Tidus to the Djose Highroad to get you a cure," she said, making her way to the staircase.

"Oh great, I suppose I don't have anything to worry about with you in charge," Gippal said sarcastically.

"Have I ever let you down?" she replied with a wink.

"I'm dying, so you can't force me to answer that." Rikku rolled her eyes but grinned as she bounded down the staircase, feeling completely revitalized.

- - -

"This has got to be the most disgusting thing I have ever done." Tidus pulled a face as he stepped cautiously over the coils of the giant snake he had just slain and speared the monster's abdomen with his sword. The ex-guardian nearly gagged as a noxious cloud of gasses escaped from the wound and he futilely tried to wave it away.

"Hurry and collect the hydra before it evaporates into pyreflies," Paine called boredly from where she leaned against the rock wall, watching from a safe distance.

"Easy for you to say!" Tidus winced as he uncorked a bottle and thrust his hand into the steaming mess of basilisk intestine. "You're not the one elbow-deep in snake guts!"

"Don't worry, we'll tell Yuna not to touch that arm again," Rikku quipped cheerily from the rocky ledges off to the side of the main road. Paine watched her closely as the girl stood on her tiptoes and leaned precariously over a small cliff to pluck some of the delicate yellow lemon flowers. Beaming as she snatched the last of it, Rikku trotted back to Paine's side clutching a fist full of the tangy smelling blossoms.

"Think you got enough there?" Paine asked with mild sarcasm, as Rikku buried her face in the bouquet of flowers.

"They smell so good I just couldn't stop picking!" Rikku exhaled with a bright smile. Paine couldn't help the genuine smile on her face as she recognized the return of Rikku's usual happy-go-lucky nature. She had been worried after Rikku's near breakdown an hour ago that she would have to personally break Gippal's neck. Now he might live with just a broken finger once she was through with him.

"Ugh, I think I'm done here," Tidus said, crinkling his nose in disgust as he withdrew his arm and re-corked the bottle. They all watched as the giant coils of the beast began to fade and an eruption of pyreflies escaped into the open air. Before the spirit had completely faded, Rikku was distracted by a commotion further down the highroad. A man was sprinting full-speed toward them, shouting in frantic Al Bhed.

"Temple! In danger!" he yelled, sending a chill down Rikku's spine. She stared past him toward the end of the road where there seemed to be a commotion at the fork. There was the sound of distant shouting while men clad in the crimson uniforms of the Bevelle Legion shoved some of the Al Bhed men still dressed in their digging gear. Behind the soldiers, a tall, long-legged machina hopped up and down threateningly. "Saw the ship..." the man panted and pointed up at the sky where the _Celcius_ idled. "Had to find Gippal, the temple..."

"Take a deep breath," Paine said irritably as she also eyed the scuffle down the road. The Bevelle soldiers appeared to be retreating, but their machina stood guard.

"Yevon's sent the Legion," the man tried to explain slowly. "They said they've come to repossess Djose, and they want to talk to Gippal." Paine glanced at Rikku, who was staring at the man fearfully. Paine knew she was thinking that they'd come to finish the job, and that the assassin had to be behind this.

"Rikku," Paine said sharply, and the girl seemed to snap out of her trance. "Take the ingredients back to Yuna. Tidus and I will go on ahead to find out what's going on. Tell Buddy and Brother to get down here too." Rikku could only nod before taking off for the rendevous point with the airship. Tears were beginning to prickle at the corners of her eyes again and she didn't dare a reply. Paine nodded curtly at Tidus, who shouldered his sword before running down the highroad in the direction of Djose Temple.

- - -

/chap15

**Witchyinuyashagurl wrote**: "Hey u kno what strikes me as odd. With the invention of the antidote and the phonix down it would be very difficult for someone to die. Like from those wounds. Ne' ways I could see why she would be worried. but not like desparate."

**A/N: Concerning Antidotes, Phoenix Downs, and Other Magical Squaresoft Plot Devices**:

_An excellent point, my fellow InuYasha fan. ;) This is always a topic of discussion concerning death and near-death in gamer fan fiction. I'll use the example of the age-old case of "The Aeris Death" in Final Fantasy VII to explain my point. According to apparent Square-reckoning, Phoenix Downs cure the status "K.O.," or "knock-out." It does not cure, say, a vicious Masamune-inflicted, spine-shattering gut wound, or in Gippal's case, bone-crushing impalements via hunting-grade crossbow bolts._

_In this fiction, I've tried to make the world of Spira sound a little more realistic, so when a person is stabbity-stabbed with poisoned arrows, there would be reason for concern. As you can see from this chapter, I've also taken into account the magical world of Final Fantasy in which people can be held at gun point in FMV's yet get shot repeatedly in battle and be healed with a Cure spell._

_So I've tried to cover all bases-- there are some obstacles making it a little less easy to just pour a Potion over a wound and call it good, yet things are not quite as impossible as they are in reality. Assuming he lived through them, Gippal's wounds would probably be crippling in our world, addicting him to codine and forcing him to suffer through life-long physical therapy. In the lovely world of Final Fantasy, however, Yuna will be able to patch him up once the obstacle (the poison, which we're assuming is not your everyday status effect) is removed._

_(Note, the ideas expressed in this author's note are not representative of the actual intentions or ideas of SquareEnix or its affiliatesthey're only my best guess-timation. ;)_ **-P**


	16. A Little Anxious

Chapter 16  
A Little Anxious

Gippal moaned and tried to roll onto his side, but Yuna's cool hand gently pushed him back. He glared at her through his good eye as sweat rolled down his forehead and his whole body burned with pain. "Must be genetic," he mumbled, squirming underneath the hot sheets that Yuna demanded he cover himself with.

"What is?" Yuna asked mildly as she combined potions.

"A family of cruel women," he complained sullenly. "I'm burning up and you force me to lay under mounds of blankets, and I just want to roll over and pass out but you keep prodding me awake. It's just like something Rikku would do to irritate me."

"I'm not irritating you deliberately," Yuna smiled as she dabbed more of the potion onto his shoulder. Gippal winced but knew he wasn't going to get any sympathy from a cousin of Rikku's. "It's called 'feeding the fever'– you have to stay warm or you'll be even more miserable. And I can't let you fall asleep again or you might not wake up."

"What a pity," Gippal grumbled as stabs of pain coursed through his veins. Yuna had informed him that the poison, while deadly, was still easily curable, but he would have to endure the pain of the open wounds until the poison had been cured and she could use healing magic. Considerably frustrated, he tried to roll over again. Yuna tutted as she forced him to lie on his back.

"Lie still before I cast a stop spell on you. You're pulling off all your bandages when you roll around like that." Gipple snorted, but wasn't willing to take her up on her challenge. "And I can think of at least one person who would find it a pity if you didn't wake up," Yuna went on with a sly smile. Gippal snorted again.

"If you're talking about Rikku, then I doubt it," he said with a long-suffering tone. "She'd probably jump all over the bed just to irritate my corpse."

Yuna chuckled softly. "You say that, but you didn't see how worried she was when we caught up with the two of you at Baaj. She was so worked up that she didn't even notice we were there until we had to drag her away from you." Gippal might have been blushing, but he looked so fevered that no one would have known the difference. He closed his eye and pretended to be resting. Yuna watched him, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "You know, if you're thinking of sweeping my little cousin off her feet, you're going to have to clear it with me first."

Gippal cracked his eye open again to stare at Yuna skeptically before turning up his nose. "Don't know what you're talking about," he said airily.

"Oh come on, Gippal, I know that you have feelings for her..."

"Feelings of irritation, maybe" he said grouchily. "And–"

"Yuna! Yuna I've got the stuff!" Gippal sat up as much as he dared before Yuna pushed him back down and stood to greet Rikku as she bounded up the stairs. Gippal growled as he lay back down but didn't argue as he watched Rikku approach. She was carefully avoiding his stare as she handed Yuna a corked bottle filled with a foamy, greenish fluid along with a bouquet of yellow flowers.

"Great job, Rikku," Yuna said, immediately uncorking the bottle and pouring it into a bowl on the night stand. She divided the bundle of flowers in half and started shredding the blossoms into the bowl. "I should be able to get this ready in no time."

"Good, um, Yuna?" Rikku said nervously, still avoiding Gippal's attempts to catch her eye. She fidgeted and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, giving her the appearance of a six year old who had just broken something expensive and was dreading telling her mother about it. "Can I... talk to you, when you're done?" she said, biting her bottom lip. Gippal narrowed his eye at her, irritated first that she didn't show the least bit of interest that his life was in peril and second that she couldn't say what she had to in front of him. He opened his mouth to interrupt when Yuna shot him a disapproving look before nodding to Rikku.

"Sure, just let me get this ready and I'll meet you in the bridge."

"Okay..." Still carefully avoiding eye contact with Gippal, Rikku gratefully turned to leave but nearly tripped over her own feet when he suddenly said her name with a "you're-hiding-something-and-I-know-it" tone. She stopped still at Gippal's voice, but didn't turn around as she tried to beat him to the punch. "Um, Brother says that we'll stay in the sky over Djose until you're better, so the faction knows you're here," she offered, trying not to sound too suspicious. There was no way she was telling him that the Grand Bevelle Legion was camped out right outside his headquarters demanding his head, because she was sure that he'd be headstrong enough to rush out there still wounded and give them what they wanted on a platter.

Gippal was certain that there was something that she wasn't telling him, but if she was too afraid to tell him, he was willing to wait until he was stronger before getting into a fight about it. "I meant 'thanks,'" he grumbled instead. "For the antidote."

Rikku squeezed her eyes shut and nodded quickly, her back still turned to him. "No problem," she managed to say before bounding down the stairs out of sight.

- - -

He was running– the sounds of agonized screams echoed and chased him through the dark cavern. _Paine, Baralai, Nooj_... he wanted to call out to them but at the same time was terrified of finding them. They were all being hunted in the darkness, allies turning against each other, consumed by an insatiable madness. He stumbled, muscles burning as his lungs gasped for air. He could feel _it_, rushing down the tunnel behind him– a wave of palpable evil searching for a new host.

"Gippal!" He turned suddenly, dreading the sight of her. Paine stood with one bloodied hand clutching her abdomen while the other pointed a gun at him. She glared at him with utter loathing and contempt. "How could you?" she screeched, her voice echoing a hundred times over. "You would kill us all!" He turned to run, back down the tunnel before it hit him. An overwhelming sensation of sorrow and despair washed over him, clutching at his heart, burrowing deep into his mind and dragging him down through the depths of an infinite darkness...

Gippal shot upright in bed, sweat drenching his nightclothes and rolling in beads down his forehead. His heart was racing as he peered through the darkness, certain that he was still in the cave of his dreams. The room was dark, but he began to identify the familiar objects of the makeshift infirmary above the bar in the _Celcius_. He was lying alone in the middle bed, trying to catch his breath after the nightmare. _The Den of Woe again,_ he mentally chastised himself. He didn't dream of it often, but he still felt sick after succumbing so thoroughly to a recurring nightmare. Shaking himself, he slid his left leg out of the steaming bed and felt a sharp twinge in his chest. Immediately thankful that he hadn't tried to move his right leg, he remembered the extent of his injuries.

He carefully tugged at the collar of the buttoned shirt he was wearing to examine Yuna's ministrations. The wound in his left shoulder was extremely sore but patched up beneath large white bandages, just as his right knee was wrapped and braced. After applying the antidote, Yuna had cast several Cure spells over him, mending flesh and bone quickly. The wounds were still extremely tender, however, and she had put him to sleep immediately afterward to keep him from moving around and reopening them. With an irritated sniff, Gippal turned to stare out the window behind him. He had slept through the rest of the day and night as dawn was beginning to lighten the sky to that eerie grey glow. He looked back at his dark, abandoned surroundings and wondered where everyone else was sleeping.

_That's right_, he recalled with a jolt. _Rikku said we were in the skies above Djose. They must all be with the faction in the temple._ _Nice of them to just leave me here,_ he grumbled internally as his sore body returned him to his sour mood. _I don't remember giving the faction permission to house outsiders..._ Not content with simply lying back in his sweat-dampened bed, Gippal began the achy process of standing. He carefully swept his right leg across the bed to meet his left and tentatively pressed his foot to the chilled floor. A dull pain immediately shot up from his heel to his kneecap and confirmed his suspicions that Anje's crossbow bolts had indeed shattered some bones. Yuna's Cure spells had done an impressive job of setting him down the road to a complete recovery, but if he moved too much too quickly he could ruin a job well done.

Impatient as always, however, Gippal deigned to stand up. Suddenly glad that there was no one to witness this, Gippal bit into his lower lip as the shock of pain and pressure erupted in his wounded limbs. He staggered, catching himself on the window sill as he caught his breath. He gathered his bearings and realized that he was fully clothed; Yuna's chidings about "feeding the fever" had kept him in his own baggy, purple trousers, though most of his belts and armor had been removed. He was wearing someone else's long-sleeved button-up shirt that was almost too small as the material stretched tightly across his chest. He loosened a few buttons as he leaned closer to the cool window pane, still supporting himself on the sill. The sun was beginning to rise with blood red streaks, almost more like a sunset, though it was in the east and Gippal was fairly certain that it was early morning. It seemed that the _Celcius_ was still in the air, though not very high up as Gippal looked down on the near-by tree tops. Everything was cast in a dismal grey, including the clouds that drifted in a haze past his window.

_Wait a minute_, Gippal wondered suddenly. _Clouds wouldn't be forming at this height..._ He looked more closely and found the "clouds" were more like smoke, billowing black and grey past his window. He pressed his forehead to the glass in an attempt to find the source of the smoke, but it appeared to be carried by the wind from the opposite direction. Gippal grunted as he turned away from the window._ That'd be just my luck if the ship was on fire somewhere_, he grumbled to himself again as he hobbled his way toward the stairs, wincing with every step. He made his way slowly and carefully to the elevator and pressed the button for the bridge. _If there's something wrong, I should be able to figure it out from there_, he thought to himself as the elevator lowered to its destination.

The door slid open and Gippal picked his painful way down the stairs. The bridge was also dark and devoid of people, as he expected, though dim lights shone out from various control panels and monitors. Gippal made his way to the closest panel and leaned against it. There was a large monitor in front of him, and he suspected that this was where the crew's information specialist worked. Gippal frowned thoughtfully at the glowing buttons before testing a few. The monitor instantly glowed to life, though the projected image was grainy and flickered in and out of focus. Staring at it, Gippal gathered that it was part of a surveillance system for the outside of the ship. It was currently displaying the dusty expanse of the Djose Highroad, closer to the Mushroom Rock divide and staring down the road toward the distant fork that led to Djose Temple. Smoke drifted thickly past the camera, obscuring the view.

Thinking he could use the camera to find the source of the fire, Gippal again began pressing buttons. The camera zoomed in and out but did not change direction. Irritated, Gippal nearly started pounding on the console before he hit the audio controls. It was quiet, but Gippal could hear the distant crackling of the blaze, and though he could not see it, he judged it to be coming from the direction of the temple. Zooming in on the fork in the road, Gippal thought he heard the distant, peppered shots of machine gunfire. A sudden terror struck him in as his heart leapt into his throat. _Djose... They wouldn't..._ Gippal grit his teeth as he hobbled away from the console and toward the large open windows near the helm. The sun was still rising in all its bloody-red glory as thick wafts of smoke drifted past. He could not see the temple from this vantage point, though the dark foreboding feeling gathering at the back of his mind told him enough. _Damn them_, he thought bitterly. _Damn every one of them._


	17. A Little Fight

Chapter 17  
A Little Fight

Rikku was covered in soot as she crouched behind a fallen boulder from the electrified temple. She clutched the heavy machine gun of her Alchemist dressphere and took a deep breath before darting up from her hiding place and firing a round into the smoky distance. Not far from her, Yuna followed suit with her twin Gunner's pistols. Both girls look exhausted and dirty, but grim and determined as the ducked another salvo of return fire. Rikku could hear Tidus shouting from up on the canyon walls where he and a few of the faction members, along with Buddy and Brother, were attempting to defend the temple doors behind them. Paine suddenly appeared at Rikku's side and crouched down between her and Yuna, still wielding her Warrior's sword. She looked like she had some bad news.

"I've got some bad news," she said with a quick glance over the boulder before ducking down again. There was a shriek, and a hail of bullets perforated the stone barriers in front of them.

"Yeah, as if all _this_ weren't bad enough," Yuna managed to say with a gun clip in her mouth as she reloaded.

"They've breached the canyon from behind and infiltrated the temple. Tidus and his crew are abandoning post and we just barricaded the doors from the outside. Bevelle soldiers are trapped inside but they could break through at any moment." Rikku shuddered almost convulsively as Paine delivered this blow with her usual merciless monotone, except this time she meant every dire bit of it. They had been defending the temple all through the night, and now tired and beaten down under the constant rain of bullets, the motley bunch of faction members and the meager crew of the_ Celsius_ appeared to be no match for the Grand Bevelle Legion. Her nerves had been on end since her kidnapping, and she'd had no rest from the bloodshed since Anje had shot Gippal and they had raced to find his cure. Now she was trapped in the middle of a battlefield defending her "family," and Paine was telling her there was no way out. Paine reached out to steady the young girl as she almost pitched forward onto the rocks in front of her, shaking uncontrollably. Rikku shook her off of her as she pressed her flushed face to the cool stone, willing herself to melt into it and wake up from this nightmare.

Suddenly, there was a deafening pounding noise from behind them. Yuna threw a glance over her shoulder and saw Tidus and the others rolling boulders in front of the quaking door. It would be any minute now. "Paine, Rikku," Yuna began with a slight quiver in her voice. She looked at Paine helplessly, who shook her head with a jerk. Yuna was almost petrified by the red fire that burned in Paine's eyes as she narrowed them on her.

"Be quiet, Yuna," she snapped. "You've fought two of the greatest foes in all Spira's history _and won_, and now you're giving up to a bunch of machina-wielding cowards? You are the High Summoner, now snap out of it!" Her voice rose with every word, but it could not disguise the panic beneath it. Paine lay down her sword and rubbed her face vigorously as Yuna concentrated on swallowing a lump in her throat. She didn't dare look at Rikku, who hadn't spoken a word since she had slumped against the boulder and closed her eyes.

_Why _had_ they gotten involved?_ Yuna thought to herself. She was supposed to be living her happy life in the sunshine of Besaid, far from the fire and smoke of war. Paine was right- she _had _fought- she'd fought nearly her whole life, and all the while she cherished the dream that someday, there would be an end, whether she was alive to see it or not. Dead or alive, however, the end she imagined didn't look like this. Yuna nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone grab her from behind. She looked up to find Tidus crouched beside her, his hand squeezing her shoulder. He looked down at her with such sorrow in his eyes that she couldn't bear to look at him. She threw herself against his chest, burying her face in the curve of his neck but refusing to let herself cry. He wrapped his arms around his wife of barely three months and rocked her slightly, unable to speak.

The boulders holding the door behind them shook again, and a few tumbled off the top and rolled toward where they sat. Rikku slowly cracked her eyes open to see the smoke drifting between her and the temple door, like some hazy fog from a dream world that separated fantasy from reality. She could see some of the faction members crouched together nearby, some speaking in rapid Al Bhed- Brother and Buddy included- and others silently reclining against the stone walls of the canyon as she was, unable to fight anymore. She closed her eyes again. This was it. The sounds of the gunfight seemed to fade away as she sat there until everything felt very still. Her hazy mind wondered if she was dead yet. She was surprised how calm she felt, and how she could still smell the pungent odor of gunpowder and smoke from the burning temple. She thought she heard shouting, but she ignored it until it grew louder– indeed, so loud that it felt like someone was screaming right into her ear.

"Rikku! Rikku, wake up! They've called a cease fire!" Rikku's eyes snapped open, and she was dazed to find herself back in the middle of the battlefield with Paine still crouched beside her, except now the woman looked alert as she cocked her head toward the distant shouting. "'Cease fire, cease fire,' they're saying..." Paine murmured more to herself than for Rikku's benefit. "They want to negotiate a surrender..." Rikku sat up and peeked over the boulder at the opposing army. At first, she could only see more smoke, but gradually she began to make out vague, grey shadows of men and the glowing eyes of their machina weapons, like shades of another world. She suppressed another shudder.

"Surrender your leader!" called out a strong, deep voice. No doubt it was the commander of the Bevelle Legion.

"What?" Tidus asked, bewildered. "What's he talking about? There's a leader here?"

"Oh, be quiet," Yuna said in a hushed voice. "Don't you even know what you were fighting for?"

"Give us the Machine Faction Leader, and keep your worthless Al Bhed lives!" the man shouted, this time in awkward, disjointed Al Bhed. Reality slammed Rikku hard in the gut once more They were after still Gippal, just like Anje had been. "You have three minutes!" bellowed the commander. "And then we send in the machina!" Rikku looked panicked up at Paine, who just narrowed her eyes and refused to meet Rikku's gaze. Yuna swallowed hard and reached over to give Rikku's hand a hard squeeze. She didn't have to say anything.

_What?_ Rikku thought frantically._ They can't be seriously considering this! Gippal is wounded, and they only want to kill him!_ Desperately, Rikku searched her fellow Al Bhed's eyes for a sign of hope, of loyalty to their leader, but all eyes were cast silently to the ground. Even her own Brother wouldn't look her in the eyes. _No, no- this can't be happening, _Rikku slumped against the wall again. _They think Gippal is back here with us; if they've been fighting us to find him, then they don't know about the airship yet._ She glanced involuntarily at the sky, searching for the great hulk of the smoke was rising too thickly above her to be able to distinguish the shape.

_If we give him up- we live. If we give him up, they'll definitely kill him..._ The sharp taste of bile sprang to the back of Rikku's throat and she gagged. It was too horrible, too horrible to think about. _He saved my life... he's saved me so many times..._ One life for so many others, and they were going to decide against their fates or his...

"_Gippal is not a nice guy..."_ She could hear the distant memory of Paine's voice. It seemed like eons ago that the older woman had warned her about getting involved with him. "_You have to accept that everyone has a dark side... the harder they try to hide it, the worse it is."_ Rikku shook her head violently, and a sob wrenched itself from her throat. Paine's head snapped up and she watched as Rikku tried to fight the tears streaming down her face. Paine knew that she could do nothing to comfort her. Everyone knew what they were going to have to do.

Paine glanced over to where Tidus still held Yuna, and she looked at the white T-shirt scuffed with ashes and dirt that he was wearing. Without warning, she reached out and ripped at the cuff of the sleeve. "Hey!" he yelped in surprise. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Saving our lives," Paine replied. She tore off a stretch of the soot-stained sleeve and stood up, waving the piece of barely-white fabric over her head.

- - -

Commander Wilkommen of the Grand Bevelle Legion standing some 50 yards away saw her grey form through the smoke and smiled. "Send him forward!" he called to her triumphantly. He signaled to his men to relieve the soldiers trapped inside the temple from the rear. Wilkommen had every intention of fulfilling the bargain of lives, and as promised, they would withdraw. What did it matter, anyway, as long as the higher-ups were pleased and his mission of capture accomplished? _Never send a woman to do a man's job_, he thought viciously as he imagined the disgraced assassin who had left him with this dirty mess in the first place.

- - -

Paine stood, still waving the make-shift flag when Rikku let out a heart-wrenching moan and dove at her, grabbing her knees and pulling her to the ground. Paine gave a short cry of surprise as they landed in the dirt, but didn't try to fight back as Rikku drew back her hand and slapped her. "How could you?" Rikku shrieked in Al Bhed as she sat on Paine's chest. "How could you do that to him? You've just_ killed _him!"

Paine stared passively up at the sobbing girl.

"'What have I done to _him_,'" she repeated slowly, exerting all of her will to keep her voice steady and calm. "What I did, I did for you, and for all of us. Rikku, do you think that we all deserve to die for his mistakes?" Rikku was sobbing harder than ever and could hardly understand a word Paine was saying, or even if she was saying anything at all. Paine sat up and Rikku rolled off of her, and she lay there, curled up and crying in the dirt. Everyone around them was watching the scene, too ashamed to move or speak a word. Paine looked down at Rikku, taking in every racking sob and every tear melting into the ground. She watched and remembered the girl who, throughout all the time she had know her, went out of her way to be cheerful and happy, hiding her own personal sorrows for the benefit of others.

She remembered how time after time, Paine had shot down every attempt at friendship that the girl had ever offered so that she could save her own feelings, but Rikku had never given up on her. She had never let her down. Paine felt her own carefully hardened defenses falling within her. Something inside of her that she thought she had hidden so deeply rose up from within her chest and exploded in her heart with all the fierceness of the pent-up years. Paine blinked very hard and stood up without a word. She carefully brushed the dirt off of her pants before unsheathing her sword. For a split second, Yuna was paralyzed with terror as she thought that Paine was about to have her revenge on Rikku when the sword was driven into the ground at her feet. Yuna looked up into the blood red eyes and could never guess if they had ever been allowed to cry. She turned around and stepped beyond the boulder outcropping, walking toward the soldiers of the opposing side. Yuna was stunned for a moment, and then stood up suddenly, knocking Tidus backward with the sudden movement.

"Paine!" she called desperately. "What are you doing?"

"Be quiet, Yuna, and take care of Rikku."

"Paine! Paine, listen to me! Come back!" Yuna called out frantically. She was so confused and lost that she was certain she had gone mad. The bloodshed had blurred all lines between reality and illusion. Her friends were falling apart before her eyes and she could do nothing but watch. They could do nothing for her but walk away. Yuna took a few dizzy steps toward Paine and fainted. Tidus caught her before her head slammed into the boulders in front of her.

"Yuna!" he said desperately, staring into his wife's vacant eyes. "Yuna, are you alright? Yuna!"

- - -

Paine steadily approached the Bevelle army, whose commander watched her warily. "What sort of joke is this?" he demanded. "Where is the Machine Faction Leader?"

"I am the Machine Faction Leader," she answered plainly. "Are you surprised that your organization was fooled by a little girl like me?" Commander Wilkommen's face boiled red with anger. He did not like being spoken to by such a woman, but she was certainly cocky enough to aleader of the rebellious Al Bhed. After all, the temple had never specified if the leader was a woman or a man. The Al Bhed were all dogs, anyway. Paine smiled at the expression of confusion on his face. "What's the matter," she taunted in Al Bhed. "Cat got your tongue?" Without a word, he raised a beefy fist and struck her across the face. The blow broke her nose and knocked her to the ground. Dazed, she could only lay there for a few moments as blood seeped out of her nose and the commander and his lieutenants roared with laughter down at her.

"You Yevon scum never change," called a clear, taunting voice over the crowd. Abruptly, the laughter stopped and all heads turned as they searched for the source of this provocation. "Killing innocent people and beating women- not to mention the stench you can smell for miles- now I remember why I never followed the teachings of Yevon." Gippal smirked at them from where he stood right behind them. Paine just gawked at him She couldn't believe he was even standing. He was still wearing the clothes they had left him in- Tidus's shirt and his own trousers, leaving him completely defenseless and unarmed. Her eyes darted down to his leg were blood was starting to soak through the dark material.

"And who in bloody hellfire are you?" Commander Wilkommen shouted, anger quickly replacing surprise.

"Why, the Machine Faction Leader, of course. You're here for me, after all, aren't you?" Wilkommen looked first to the woman laying on the ground, who only glared up at him while the blood poured out of her nose, and then to the man standing in front of him, cocky as hell and loving every second of it. One of them was going to be arrested. The other was going to die. "What, do you need proof?" Gippal asked. "Never mind that you probably burned all the official documents in your precious sacred ground over there," he nodded toward the smoking towers of the temple. "But I'm sure I could find some other way to convince you..." Gippal pretended to be deep in thought. "Now let me see... Oh, I know! Are you familiar with your esteemed High Summoner, exponent of your Yevon-whoring career, Lady Yuna?" Gippal narrowed his one eye with malicious pleasure as he watched the commander turn an interesting shade of purple. The veins in his throat and on his forehead sprang out alarmingly, and if he didn't die of an apoplexy just standing there, he would love what Gippal had to say next. "That lady is hopefully crouched just behind those boulders that you were firing at a moment ago. I say hopefully because for the sake of your life you had better hope that you haven't killed her. This woman here is one of her Guardians..." he motioned toward where Paine was now attempting to stand up while holding her gushing nose.

_An attack on the Lady Summoner and her Guardians!_ Wilkommen thought wildly. It would ruin his career. He would gut that whore Anje before the whole Tribunal for setting him up like this! By now, the commander was nearly rupturing with rage. His own men shrank off to a safer distance from their captain, but Gippal just watched him cooly. "You are under arrest by the Global Code of Spira, ordained in the name of Yevon!" the commander roared in Gippal's face as he strode over to him. "For trespassing, extortion, and conspiracy in the ancient House of Yevon!" He wrenched Gippal's arms into a pair of handcuffs, and for the first time, Gippal's defenses faltered. He cried out in genuine pain as the commander twisted the arm that Anje had impaled with her crossbow bolt, causing the blood to soak through the bandage under his shirt. The commander smiled cruelly at him with this newly discovered weakness. "Oh, we're going to have such a fun trip home, Mr. Leader," he said, yanking the arm again. Gippal groaned but refused to cry out again as he stared up at the commander with all the repulsion and hatred he could muster.

"Gippal!" Paine cried out in place of him. The commander was reminded of her presence and he turned to her again. She stared defiantly up into his dark eyes as he smirked down at her. He reached into his breast pocket and produced a stiff, white handkerchief and held it out to her.

"I do apologize, my, er, _lady_ Guardian," he drawled. "Do see to your Lady Summoner, and give her my regards?" Paine spat up into his face. His lips stretched thinly as he wiped the spittle out of his eye, but he could afford no more damage here without risking his job in the public's demand. Even though Lady Yuna had rejected the teachings, the people of Spira still loved her and would demand vengeance for any grievance she might claim. Disgusted but still forcing a smile, he gave Paine a curt bow before striding off to his hoover. "Men! We move out! Load the prisoner in the chocobo cart!"

Two men who were shorter than Gippal approached him, smirking as they prepared to follow their commander's orders. Gippal glared death at them as they prepared to grab his arms again. "You touch me with that look on your face and I swear on your mother's bony Yevonite ass, I will take your nuts." The men looked nervously at each other and then at the look on Gippal's face before muttering about bringing the cart around, leaving Gippal and Paine momentarily alone while enemy soldiers prepared to move out around them. "Gippal..." Paine began softly, her voice threatening to crack.

"Paine, thanks for everything," Gippal said before she could continue. "I've never met a tougher lady than you."

"I'm sorry," she said in a rush. "I'm sorry for everything I ever..."

"Hey Dr. P," he cut in with a grin. "No offence or anything, but just the _thought_ of you crying gives me the heeby-jeebies, so don't start now and give me nightmares, okay?" He smiled at her and she choked on a laugh. "Take care of everyone for me like you always do," he asked her, his voice softening. She could only nod. "And Paine," paused as he looked at her with a small smile on his face. She forced herself to hold his sad gaze as he stood there, hands clasped behind his back and looking more noble than she could have ever imagined him to be. "Take care of her for me, will you?" he asked, a hint of pleading in his voice. For the first time in everything he had endured, he looked vulnerable and uncertain. "Tell her..." he paused, looking beyond her and toward the temple. White ashes from the fires were falling gently to the ground like snow from the sky, but he couldn't see anything beyond the boulders in front of the temple. "Just tell her that I..."

The armed chocobo cart clamored up to them, interrupting him before he could finish. The two men were back with reinforcements. Four men dismounted and stood waiting at the doors. Two of them stood on either side and grabbed him roughly under the arms, preparing to drag him away. He tried to suppress a wince as he smiled at her. Paine just nodded numbly, understanding without words as she watched him go. He shrugged off their grips on his arms and managed to limp into the cart, his leg bleeding afresh from the exertion. They slammed the doors shut behind him and rode off under heavy guard, leaving Paine to stand alone on the deserted battlefield.


	18. A Little Lost

**A/N: **Remember in _FFX_ when Tidus and Auron shared that birdcage-like cell (when Yuna was on trial and sentenced to the Via Purifico)? I don't know if Squeenix meant it to be the same "gaol" where Shuyin was kept, though it could be the same place for all I know. In this chapter, I somewhat assumed that they were separate.

Anyway, keep the idea of those places in mind for the second half of this chapter.  
**-P**

Chapter 18  
A Little Lost

The first thing Rikku became aware of as she awoke was how strangely heavy her whole body felt. She cracked an eyelid and tried to raise her arm to eye-level. She saw that she was still clad in the armor from her Alchemist's dress sphere and that she was now lying on one of the beds above the _Celcius_'s bar room. _When did I...? _Rikku tried to remember the events that had brought her here as she sat up and rubbed her dry, itchy eyes. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and her mouth was parched; it felt as though she'd wrung herself dry. Suddenly she remembered. Bright, warm sunlight streamed through the window behind her bed, and Rikku pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes to keep out the painful light. She didn't want to start crying again, she felt drained enough. _Gippal, oh Ixion, he's..._

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Rikku's head snapped up and was greeted with the sight of a grinning blonde man. "I thought you were going to sleep all day!" Tidus said cheerily as he crossed the room to sit on the bed next to hers. Rikku glanced over and found the bed next to her also occupied. Tidus's smile thinned as he gently settled by Yuna's side. "Don't worry about her," Tidus said, his voice suddenly soft as he took his unconscious wife's hand. He leaned over her sleeping form and tenderly brushed her bangs away from her closed eyes, and Rikku was relieved to see her cousin take a deep breath and stir slightly, though she did not wake. "She was just under a lot of stress, like you," Tidus went on, his fixed, beaming smile reasserted as he looked at Rikku again. Rikku smiled weakly in return and then looked down at the bedspread.

"How... how is everyone?" Rikku managed at last. There was a pregnant pause while Tidus scratched the back of his head, obviously uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation.

"Oh, you know– we got the temple back, though there's been a lot of damage," he said, deliberately skirting the issue. "Most of the faction members are back on the ground clearing debris and putting out fires so the wounded have a place to rest for awhile..."

"And?" Rikku prompted tonelessly, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tidus scratched his head again.

"Um, after we surrendered..." Tidus began hesitantly. "You probably don't remember this, but Paine went over there."

"Yeah, I think I remember that," Rikku replied bitterly. She remembered the coldness in Paine's eyes as she waved that white swatch of material over her head, beckoning Gippal's death.

"Well I don't know her very well, but I think she's crazy," Tidus said with a short laugh. Rikku looked at him curiously as he continued. "She went over there and told the Bevelle Legion that _she_ was the 'Machine Faction Leader,' and then I guess they beat her up or something."

"_What_?"

"Yeah, and then that guy Gippal just came out of no where and turned himself in." Rikku stared at Tidus dumbly. _Paine_ was going to sacrifice herself for _Gippal's_ sake? And Gippal had surrendered by his own free will? What other freakish twists of reality had happened while she was asleep?

"Yes, I'm sure the great 'Al Bhed Hero' will be the stuff of legend by tomorrow morning," said a voice by the stairwell. Both Tidus and Rikku turned to stare at Paine as she crossed the room to stand at the foot of Yuna's bed. She regarded Rikku crossly. "Here, drink this," she said stiffly as she thrust a glass filled with a chalky-looking potion toward Rikku. "You look like hell."

"No better than you," Rikku retorted icily as she took the glass, her anger swiftly returning under the bitter gaze of those maroon-colored eyes. She took in the dark twin bruises beneath Paine's eyes and the wide stretch of bandage arching over her nose. Paine crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"Well, I definitely need to go help Buddy and Brother put out the rest of those fires in the temple..." Tidus said loudly, glancing nervously between the two angry women. "Um, let me know if Yuna wakes up, will you?" Without waiting for a reply, Tidus nearly sprinted for the stairs. Neither woman moved until they heard the hiss of the elevator door as it closed, indicating that they were alone. Rikku glared at Paine for a full minute before turning her attention to the potion she held in her hands, though she made no move to drink it. Without looking at Rikku again, Paine sat down in the space on Yuna's bed previously occupied by Tidus.

"I guess you're happy now," Rikku muttered sullenly. Paine ignored Rikku's comment as she stared at Yuna with an unreadable expression. Rikku felt the indignant anger of being ignored flare up inside her once again and narrowly managed to stop herself from throwing the glass at Paine's head. "So now you're too good to talk to me too, huh?" Rikku spat, desperately trying to blink back hot tears. "Sorry to get you caught up in our Al Bhed '_problems_,' but I never asked you to 'die for our mistakes!'" Rikku trembled as she recalled Paine's justification for turning Gippal in. Paine did not even flinch.

"I'm sorry," Paine said quietly. Rikku felt herself instantly deflate as she stared at Paine in disbelief. Was she actually apologizing for Gippal's death? Paine smoothed the sheets around Yuna unnecessarily as she stared vacantly at the sleeping High Summoner. "It's my fault this happened to you; it's my fault you're in so much pain," the red-eyed warrior went on. Rikku looked from Yuna to Paine and back again, trying to figure out who Paine was talking to. Suddenly, she snapped.

"What the hell is your problem, huh!" Rikku shouted in Al Bhed. Paine narrowed her eyes, but did not turn to acknowledge Rikku. "Gippal is going to _die_, don't you even give a damn? Tell me how you manage to be such a cold bitch, because I'd really like to give it a try!"

"Rikku..."

"Shut up!" Rikku threw the potion at Paine and missed her by a wide margin. The glass shattered as it hit the floor beyond the beds and the chalky substance splattered across the room. As if finally winning her attention, Paine turned to regard Rikku, who had disintegrated into fresh tears.

"I would apologize to your face, but I know that I don't have the right to look at you in the eyes ever again," she said quietly. Rikku managed to lift her eyes to Paine's, which to her amazement were glistening with tears of her own. Paine smiled a little. "I was wrong, Rikku, and I failed you." For a moment Rikku just stared in stunned silence and Paine looked away self-consciously. The older woman appeared just as unsettled by this deviation from her normally callous self as she sat rigidly with her eyes cast to the floor. Then, before she had a chance to react, Rikku had nearly flung herself into Paine's arms, wrapping her in a fierce hug.

"I'm so sorry!" Rikku bawled onto the surprised older woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Paine blinked at this sudden turn of events before coming to her senses and returning the hug. She would have smiled with the relief of having Rikku's forgiveness, if not for the present circumstances.

"They've got him," Paine finally said, loosening her grip around Rikku's shoulders. The smaller girl only shook her head furiously and held on tighter. Paine knew the news was going to devastate her, but she also knew that there wouldn't be any closure for the grieving girl if she didn't hear it all. "The sentence was announced over the sphere waves this afternoon," she went on, nearly choking on the bitter taste that suddenly sprang to the back of her throat. "They call it 'plotting to use machina experimentation to reproduce a war the likes of the one 1,000 years ago.' The public execution has been scheduled for..." Paine was interrupted mid-sentence as Rikku's heart-wrenching sobs reached a crescendo. She could only hold the girl tightly throughout the torrent, rocking her and stroking her hair. After several very long minutes, Paine pulled away, holding Rikku by her shoulders at an arm's length. Rikku looked up at her pitifully, her whole face flushed and swollen with tears, eyes and nose streaming. Paine swallowed very hard. "You have to be strong, Rikku," she said, her voice trembling slightly as she reached into her front pants pocket and drew out a black handkerchief. She dabbed at Rikku's face while trying to blink back her own tears. "You know he wouldn't want you to cry over him like this."

"Ha," Rikku forced a short laugh as she took the handkerchief from Paine and swiped at her own eyes. Her smile looked painful on her raw face. "He'd probably just laugh and call me a 'little girl' again..." She sniffed loudly and blew her nose into the black cloth. Paine forced a smile of her own and hugged Rikku one more time before getting up to leave. She paused at the staircase and looked back over her shoulder to where Rikku was still drying her eyes where she sat on the edge of Yuna's bed. Her heart ached again at the sight of the characteristically strong-willed and cheerful girl looking so shrunken and battered, like a tiny flower crushed after a storm. She knew it would be some time before she saw that flower bloom again. She looked away.

"Rikku," Paine said suddenly, hesitating at the top of the stairs. She didn't dare turn to look the girl in the eyes, though Rikku looked up at her expectantly, still wiping away tears with the back of her hand.

"He loved you, you know," Paine said haltingly. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the railing. She knew it was cruel to say that, to land the final blow on Rikku's already broken heart, but was her last duty that she owed to Gippal. His last unspoken wish he had sent silently over the battlefield– that he should finally tell that "little girl" what his heart demanded to be heard before the end– had finally been granted. Paine braced herself for Rikku's fresh wave of tears, but they didn't come. When she finally looked over at Rikku, she saw the girl sitting as she had been, staring at her hands in her lap with the twisted handkerchief.

"Thank you, Paine," Rikku said at last with a soft smile. Paine only nodded and descended the stairs.

- - -

"Man, this sucks." Gippal rolled over onto his back again, trying to get comfortable on the cold metal floor of his suspended, birdcage-like cell. He had already spent the better part of the morning complaining loudly about anything and everything, though he was stuck and there was nothing he could do except make damn sure that his captors never heard the end of it.

"Sweet St. Shiva, will you shut up already?" a distant guard shouted before resuming his patrol down one of the many dark passages below Bevelle's temple. Gippal rolled his eye before flopping over. _I wonder how everyone at Djose is doing_... Gippal returned to his thoughts of the past hour as he traced a finger over some fingernail scratches in the floor. A previous occupant of this cell had carved the words "spiral of death" into the floor, and Gippal focused on making the cuts deeper. _The temple looked like it was done for_, he mused as he recalled the fires and dislodged boulders. He hadn't seen any of the faction members, but that didn't mean that everyone was alright. Gippal scratched at the letter "p" intensely for a few moments, trying not to remember Paine's bloodied face as he had last seen her. He could only imagine how many more lay wounded out of sight because of Yevon's grudge against him.

"Ixion, this is stupid!" Gippal moaned aloud again, giving up on the fingernail scratches. He knew that his situation wasn't just because of him in particular, more like his Al Bhed heritage at large. He also knew that his public execution and the skewed reports of the charges against him were merely Yevonite propaganda to stir up the hatred against his people that had been lost in the wake of Sin's defeat. _Public scapegoat_, he thought bitterly as he rolled over to his side and propped his head up on one hand. _Comes with the territory of being a designated leader, but I really screwed up this time_... The Legion's Commander Wilkommen had been visiting the prison hourly to inform Gippal (with a disturbing show of zeal) of the arrangements for his execution the next day. Far from becoming morose over the news, Gippal had laughed out loud when the commander had presented the death sentence.

"Just wait!" the apoplectic commander had shouted after Gippal's seemingly careless response. "Let's see how you laugh under my sword tomorrow! I only wish I had that assassin's head to parade along with yours at my awards reception!" Gippal had only sneered at Wilkommen's threats, though once alone he immediately sobered. True to Al Bhed fashion, Gippal was not exactly terrified of the idea of death, but then again he wasn't exactly ready to go, either. Instead of struggling against the thought of his impending doom, he allowed himself to become very conscious of it. Better to get used to the idea now than to break down in front of the Yevonites tomorrow. _Doesn't help that it's going to be broadcast all over the sphere waves_, _though_, he thought, now suddenly subdued. He supposed that meant that _she_ was going see it, and it was bad enough coming to terms with it on his own without imagining it through her eyes. Gippal groaned and rubbed his face roughly. _Rikku, it's probably better that I never had the chance to tell you_...

"Feeling sorry for yourself yet?" Gippal stiffened at the sudden, taunting voice, but surprise immediately turned to loathing as he identified his visitor.

"Can't get enough of yourself so you had to come down and admire your handiwork," Gippal said sarcastically before sitting up. Anje's almond-shaped eyes glared at him from where she stood on the bridge in front of his cage.

"Unfortunately for both of us, you being here is not the product of my 'handiwork,' as you put it," she spat, crossing her arms over her red drake-leather clad chest. Gippal snorted.

"Yeah, I guess we both would have preferred I die of a crossbow bolt to the heart than see all the credit for my death go to the Grand Bevelle Legion." He winced a little as he rotated his wounded shoulder and rose to stand on his previously broken leg. Yevon's monks had repeated Yuna's healing spells upon his arrival at the temple, leaving him with nothing more serious than bruises and stiff joints. After all, it would be bad for Yevon's public image if their prisoner appeared less than healthy at his own execution.

"That dog of the military is a sadist," Anje said vehemently. Gippal cocked an eyebrow at this outward show of unrest among Yevon's servants, but said nothing. The assassin began to pace the bridge in front of him, and Gippal noticed that her eye makeup was considerably smudged and her normally skin-squeezing suit was rumpled and dirty looking. He was willing to bet that since her escape from Baaj, Rikku's former kidnapper had had a taste of being hunted herself. "Because of him..." she muttered bitterly, speaking more to herself than Gippal. "It's all his fault I have to do this." She stopped pacing and drew a short barrel pistol from her belt. Gippal's eye immediately darted to the door, wondering just where the hell the guards were when he finally had something to complain to them about. He suddenly realized that she must have killed them all in order to get down here in the first place. "They originally assigned me to kill you because they wanted it quick and out of the public eye," the disgraced assassin went on, raising the gun to aim at Gippal. "They were hoping that the Al Bhed would retaliate and make it seem like the first move in a rebellion against the 'peaceful' people of Bevelle. "But after I failed to kill you twice, they sent out the big guns," she said darkly as she drew back the hammer on the small firearm. Gippal narrowed his eye at her.

"So once I'm out of the picture, your name takes the top spot on Yevon's hit list," he finished for her.

"You're pretty smart for a dumb blonde," Anje smirked before pulling the trigger. Gippal winced as the explosive sound of the gunshot thundered around the seemingly bottomless room. He opened his eye to see Anje still smirking at him. The door of his cell was open ajar where the bullet had blown off the bolt that held him in. "If I can't have the kill, no one will," she said, grabbing a near-by chain that hung from the ceiling and swung it toward the now open cell door. Gippal caught it, but paused in the doorway, eyeing the assassin critically. Anje only laughed and turned her back to him. "I'm not getting paid to kill you anymore, but I'm certainly not getting paid to help you, either. This is just making me even with Wilkommen." It was so ironic Gippal could have laughed. He swung out on the chain and landed on the bridge next to Anje.

"'Make love, not war,' that's what I always say," he winked at her in typical playboy fashion. Anje nodded toward the exit.

"Your guard left his rifle near the doorway," she said, slipping another bullet into the empty chamber of her single-shot derringer. Gippal was fairly certain that he hadn't "left it" so much as he had probably dropped it after the assassin had killed him, but he took the hint as he followed Anje to the door and picked up the weapon. "Even though you were a political prisoner, they were pretty lax on your security," she said as Gippal cocked the rifle.

"It's because I chased them all away with my whining," he said, only grinning because he suspected it was true.

"In any case, going down will only lead to the Vias Purifico and Infinito," Anje said as she made her way to a staircase. "The only way out is to head straight up into the temple itself. I don't suppose your friends the High Summoner and the Al Bhed Princess would be on their way for a daring rescue?"

"Nah, too clever for that," Gippal said, though privately he admitted that it would be a miracle if the ladies who defeated Sin and Vegnagun didn't try to take the temple with guns blazing. For a moment he entertained the thought of his "Al Bhed Princess" arriving just in time with her mini skirt and probably more than a few choice phrases for him. He quickly shook his head, dismissing the fantasy as something to think about later as he focused on getting out of here before Rikku really did show up and follow him into trouble.


	19. A Little Plan

**A/N: **As far as I know, no FFX-2 character has a surname, and I don't think I've assigned one to Gippal yet (if you remember, I took the liberty of naming Rikku "Hanzo" after the sword maker in _Kill Bill_). The situation calls for it (after all, you can't execute someone without announcing their full name!) , so I have christened Gippal "Matsuda," after the conceptual art director of FFX-2. Why? No particular reason at all, which I think is best.

**-P**

Chapter 19

A Little Plan

Tidus bent over to shove another soot-blackened boulder aside before pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow. Though it was mid-afternoon and the faction's battle with the Grand Bevelle Legion had ended just earlier that morning, the aching muscles in Tidus's back reminded him that he'd worked harder in these past 24 hours than he had during his entire three months back in Besaid. With a wry grin he recalled Wakka's theory on marriage's "abdominal softening" effect on ex-Blitzball players. "Oi, Blondie!" a familiar screeching voice called down from the cliffs above Djose Temple. Tidus shielded his eyes from the mid-day sun with one hand as he looked up at where Brother was yelling at him. "Where is my lazy sister? Is she waking yet?"

"Ah," Tidus floundered for an excuse while Brother glared at him, as if it were all Tidus's fault that Rikku had spent much of the morning unconscious. "The girls are having a moment, you know…" Brother looked like he was about to argue, but Tidus pretended to spy something urgent in the distance and hurried out of Brother's view. _I suppose I _should_ go check on them again, _Tidus thought as he rubbed the back of his sunburned neck and wandered toward the _Celcius_. He earnestly hoped that Rikku and Paine had worked out their differences by now. He much preferred the war zone outside compared to the one upstairs. Tidus rode the elevator up to the bar and paused just outside the door. After a moment of listening to silence, he nodded. _Good_, he thought to himself. _No screaming or crying so far… _Tidus jogged past the bar with a nod to Barkeep, who was in his usual place behind the bar. He bounded up the stairs and was momentarily taken aback as he stared around the empty room, wondering where everyone had gone. "Yuna? Rikku?" he asked, walking around the beds to make sure no one was lying on the floor.

"Mish Yuna and Mish Rikku ish watching the shphere waves, Mishter Tidus," warbled the Hypello from below the deck. Tidus poked his head over the railing to grin at Barkeep.

"Thanks, man!" Tidus called out as he leapt over the railing and dashed for the elevator. Barkeep shook his head sadly.

"I don't know where thosh kidsh get their energibiby," he lamented before resuming his slow polishing of the shot glasses.

Tidus's view of the bridge opened to the girls crowded around Shinra's view screen, where a news bulletin was relaying the latest information on Gippal's trial. "…Earlier this morning the Grand Bevelle Legion secured its capture of the notorious Al Bhed Machine Faction Leader, Gippal Matsuda, in what has been called an attempt to re-enact the machina war that summoned Sin over 1,000 years ago…"

Tidus casually hopped over the railing and crossed the room to give his wife a quick kiss. Yuna only nodded acknowledgment, as her eyes were still glued to the screen. Tidus now turned his attention to the report and recognized the anchorwoman as the young ex-acolyte Shelinda. "…Sources say that Mr. Matsuda has been rallying fellow Al Bhed in a plot to overhaul New Yevon for some time, however this reporter wonders why these suspicions were not made public _before_ the brutal massacring that occurred at Djose Temple earlier today…" Tidus smiled at Shelinda's shrewdness as a message flashed across the bottom of the screen, declaring the program's end before the reporter had finished. He hoped that the girl would not be in too much trouble for speaking her mind as the sphere wave abruptly ended. Yuna leaned back in her chair, thoughtfully chewing on the inside of her cheek. Paine stood behind her, hands on her hips while she scowled at the dark screen as if daring it to turn back on. Tidus glanced over at Rikku, who was slumped back in her seat with a slightly glazed and expressionless look on her face.

"Stupid girl," Paine muttered with a gesture toward the blank sphere wave viewing screen. "They're not going to let her near a camera for a while."

Yuna shrugged her shoulders. "I always liked Shelinda. I'm glad to see her taking more of a stand for what she believes in."

"It was still careless of her to risk her job just to say something like that right under Bevelle's nose. It's not going to help Gippal any." Tidus frowned slightly before casting another sideways glance at Rikku. She had seemed deep in thought and silent during the whole exchange, which made Tidus equally hopeful and nervous.

"What do you think, Rikku?" he asked tentatively.

"Hm? Oh…" Rikku seemed to shake herself out of her reverie. "Um, Shelinda's okay, I guess."

"He meant, what do you think about Gippal?" Yuna clarified, apparently sharing Tidus's concern. Rikku was avoiding the question deliberately, which sparked wary glances between the other three. Yuna pressed on. "Do you have any ideas on how to help him?"

"I should have known," Paine regarded Yuna with a smirk. "You've been planning a daring rescue ever since you woke up, haven't you?"

Yuna gave a sly smile. "Well, what did you expect? Gippal's our friend, and he's been unjustly imprisoned. You know all that about trying to start a machina war is just New Yevon propaganda."

"Now that's something I don't get," Tidus quipped. "I thought you told me that all those factions of Youth Leaguers and New Yevonites had disbanded. Why does it seem like Yevon is still in control?"

Yuna sighed deeply. "It's not really that simple. It's true that the two sides have compromised, but Spira has functioned for so long with Yevon as its only basis for law and order, so this sort of problem keeps falling back to the temple's old edicts."

"I don't suppose you've heard of the 'Order of Yevon?'" Paine now queried Tidus, who stared at her blankly. "They've been the head of the global code of ethics since the machina war. They're basically the only standard of government existing. It's going to take more than a few political upheavals in the past few years to de-stabilize that."

"Besides," Yuna interjected wearily. "They're really all we have in keeping the peace right now. If there weren't at least some kind of standard for law and order, there'd be chaos."

"Even if it _is_ Yevon we're talking about here?" Tidus asked skeptically. "I mean, I know I missed out on all this New Yevon and Youth League stuff, but I remember Yevon being the cause of all the trouble back then." Before Yuna could reply, Rikku suddenly stirred. All eyes turned to her as she stood up and stretched. Tidus guiltily realized that he'd all but forgotten she was in the room.

"Sorry guys," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I guess I'm still worn out from yesterday… or this morning, or whatever. Um, I'm gonna go out and get some fresh air." They watched in silence as she crossed the room and waited until the elevator door closed behind her to look at one another.

"So, what was that all about?" Tidus asked, looking to Yuna for an explanation on Rikku's sudden departure.

"Oh Tidus, you're so tactless!" his wife said, exasperated. "She's worried about Gippal, and we're just blathering on about politics… We need to find a way to help him," she finished.

"Well, it doesn't look like Rikku's going to be much help," Paine said stiffly. She was still staring at the closed elevator doors.

"I've been thinking," Yuna went on, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from Rikku. "Remember Isaaru and Maroda, the summoner and his brother? I think Isaaru is still at the temple as an advisor, and I know Maroda was just promoted to captain of general security. I think we should give them a call."

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea!" Tidus said enthusiastically. He was eager to break the gloomy atmosphere that had been stifling the cabin since he had arrived. "So I guess they're back on the good side, then, huh?"

"As good a side as there's ever been," Paine added in her typical monotone. She walked over to stand in front of Shinra's communication equipment. "Yuna and I will try to raise Bevelle. Tidus, you go back down to the ground and round up Buddy and Brother. I think we'll be leaving soon."

"Alright!" Tidus said, already halfway up the stairs. "Let's get ready to storm the castle!"

- - -

Rikku suppressed another sigh as she crouched down on the deck of the _Celcius_. Immediately a muscle in her left calf cramped and she winced as she tried to stretch out. _Typical! _She internally huffed. _Everything about today sucks! _She gingerly sat down and stretched both legs out in front of her before she lay down completely, staring into the cloudless blue sky above her. She hadn't left the cabin because of the conversation, as she guiltily thought everyone must now believe. Truthfully, she hadn't heard a word of it. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and her concentration kept drifting… _I don't know what I'm depressed about… Everything is going to work out okay. We've fought Yevon before and won… _Rikku frowned at the sky and rolled over, burying her head in her arms. _We just fought them this morning, though… and we lost, badly. What if we don't get so lucky this time? What if Gippal is…_ "Haha… yeah right," Rikku mumbled into her arms. The idea of Gippal dying in New Yevon's hands was just… unbelievable.

"What's so funny?" A voice near the elevator spoke suddenly. Rikku would have jumped if she hadn't been lying down.

"Geeze Tidus, that's just about the second time today you've sneaked up on me," Rikku said, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"Sorry," he grinned, not looking repentant at all as he sat down next to her. "I just couldn't let you sit up here and mope all by yourself."

"Hmph!" Rikku tried to look indignant. "I wasn't moping! I've got nothing to mope about."

"Oh really?" Tidus asked with a shifty grin. "The fact that your boyfriend is locked up and awaiting the death penalty isn't cause for a little depression?"

Rikku's jaw dropped. "As if I would date that… egotistical, womanizing, temperamental…!" Rikku floundered for the words, her cheeks growing hotter all the time. "He drives me crazy half the time…" Tidus was still looking at her sideways. Rikku finally sighed in defeat.

"Okay… I know what you're thinking, you don't have to tell me," she mumbled. Tidus looked triumphant, but let her continue uninterrupted.

"It's just…" Rikku searched for the right words. "Paine told me not to get involved with him, and I can see for myself that he's trouble-- just look at the mess he's in now. But I still…"

"It's okay, Rikku," Tidus said after a moment. "You don't have to tell me, I know what you mean."

"Well duh," Rikku fought off a blush, already sensing the romance pep talk. "You're married. If someone just up and carted Yuna off, you'd do everything you could to save her."

"Yup!" Tidus said blithely. "And it's happened. A couple times, actually…" He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I guess that means I had better keep an eye on her, huh?" Rikku just smiled and rolled her eyes as Tidus went on.

"But Rikku, I just want you to know that we're all behind you, okay? If you want to run off and save your 'egotistical womanizer,' as you call him, then you can bet that Yuna and me and everyone else will be ready to run in there with you." He scooted closer to give her a one-armed hug.

Rikku smiled up at him. "Thanks, Bro! It'll be like old times!"

"'Bro,' huh?" Tidus said with a playful smile. "As long as you don't start calling me 'Brother,' I think we'll be okay…"

"Don't worry, it'd take a head trauma and a half to confuse anyone with my lug head of a Brother…"

"That reminds me," Tidus said as he made to stand up. "Paine told me to go round him up along with Buddy. Yuna's calling Isaaru and Maroda at the temple right now, so we'll probably be leaving soon."

"Isaaru? Hey, that's right!" Rikku jumped up. "He owes us one! They'll definitely be able to help us!" Tidus hugged her again before boarding the elevator, leaving Rikku alone on the deck of the _Celcius_ in much better spirits than when she had arrived.


	20. A Little Accident

**A/N**: The geography of Bevelle's underground has changed a bit to suit the purposes of the story. Instead of saying "they jumped around a bunch of floating platforms and moving blocks," I simplified it to "running around a bunch of dark corridors," which would be more like one of the Vias Infinito or Purifico. Hey, Squeenix did it; I figure it's practically canon.

**-P**

- - -

Chapter 20

A Little Accident

- - -

Gippal took a sharp turn and ran to the end of yet another dark corridor before pausing to wait for the sound of Anje's clicking high heels catch up to him. It seemed they'd been running through the labyrinth for hours now, and Gippal was beginning to become suspicious of Anje's sense of direction.

_Not that I trusted her in the first place..._ Gippal thought to himself with a grimace as he turned to watch her catch up with him. She looked sweltering in her infamous red leather suit and high heels as she stopped with a huff in front of him and regarded him crossly.

"Are we running a marathon now or did you forget that you need me to get out of here?" she panted, bending over to catch her breath.

"Yeah, about that..." Gippal gestured to the next series of identical dark hallways. "How the heck do you know where we're going? And how much further? It looks like we've been running in circles."

"Don't be stupid," the assassin spat as she straightened up and smoothed her dark hair. "I've been working for Yevon for over 20 years– I know this place like the back of my hand." She raised her derringer and gestured to a corridor on the right. "We're nearly to the main bridge now. Just be glad we're not in the Via Infinito." Gippal shuddered. He thought he remembered Rikku recounting a particularly whiny story about an endless series of hallways deeper within the temple. Anje was now looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to take the lead again.

"You know the way; why aren't you leading?" he grunted, not entirely thrilled with exposing his back to the woman who had spent the last few months trying to kill him. He was well aware that she was only helping him to save her own skin– if he died, the man hunt would next be on her.

"Fine," she sniffed as she walked past him down the corridor. "But I'm warning you– I can hear every move you make." She cast a scathing glance back at him and the rifle he held. It appeared that she didn't trust him either. Gippal snorted. All the better. They walked at Anje's slower pace down what Gippal decided was the longest, darkest tunnel yet before he spied a decidedly brighter light at the approaching end. He lengthened his stride and quickly made for the exit.

"Careful," came Anje's warning voice behind him, along with the soft click of a derringer being armed. "That's the main bridge right under the first level. It's likely to be guarded..." They walked cautiously out onto the brightly lit bridge. Gippal could see the hoovering platform that would take them to the surface just at the other end. Before Gippal could take another step closer to it, however, the platform suddenly hummed to life– and dropped out of sight. With a strangled sound of frustration, Gippal jogged to the end of the bridge that dropped into nothingness and peered over the edge, looking for the hoovering platform. It was making fast circles around the base of the bridge, just below the walkway.

"Looks like we're gonna have to jump..." Gippal said, turning to Anje. As he did, he heard a deep, mocking laugh. Gippal turned to see not only Anje near the other end of the bridge, but also Commander Wilkommen. Each was leveling a gun at the other's head.

"Well now, two rats caught in a maze," Wilkommen sneered. "I think this is far enough to make the execution look plausible." The look on Anje's face was pure poison.

"I knew you were following us," she hissed. "Why didn't you just kill us off back in the gaol?"

"You have no respect for the hunt, my dear," Wilkommen replied with a cruel smile on his face. "That's what makes you such a failure at your job."

"This is bullshit," Gippal said irritably, now drawing his rifle. "I don't want to waste my time shooting the breeze with you."

"Drop it," Wilkommen said simply. "Or do you want your little girlfriend to die too?"

"Tch," Gippal snorted, only feeling momentarily guilty that Wilkommen thought Anje was his girlfriend. "Like I care," he bluffed confidently. "She only tried to kill me about five times." Anje's eyes narrowed but she said nothing, sensing the warning in Gippal's voice.

"Oh, I don't mean our little Guado friend here," Wilkommen's cruel smile broadened. "I mean that little Al Bhed princess, Cid Hanzo's daughter."

Gippal nearly choked. "You've got Rikku?"

"Or will, very presently. We've intercepted a sphere wave from the airship _Celcius_ and picked up on their little rescue plan. We allowed them to enter our airspace, of course, and apprehended their conspirators right after the transmission ended." Wilkommen spared him a glance. "If I don't return to the surface in three more minutes, the orders are to blow that ship out of the sky." Gippal's grip on the rifle's pump tightened, but he reluctantly lowered it. Wilkommen laughed. "That's good. Throw it over the edge." Gippal grimaced as he tossed the weapon over the side of the bridge. There wasn't even an accompanying clatter as it fell through the infinite darkness. Satisfied, Wilkommen turned his attention back to Anje.

"The bounty on your head is pitiful, but I wouldn't mind putting you out of your misery," the commander smirked, gesturing with his pistol at Anje's head. The assassin tensed. "Don't worry, as a devoted follower of Yevon, I will ask the monks to pray for your miserable soul," Wilkommen sneered and pulled the trigger. Before the shot rang out, Anje dove over the side of the bridge. Enraged, Wilkommen ran to the edge. He peered into the black, bottomless hole of a floor but could see no sign of the assassin. Satisfied the she had fallen to her death, Wilkommen turned to Gippal with a nasty smile. "How pathetic– not even your enemies can save you now, heathen," he said confidently. "Now I will have the glory of killing both you and the intruding Al Bhed." The look on Gippal's face was murderous.

"Having fun staging your little war?" he seethed. "Why the hell are you after us, anyway? We're not the only ones who've jumped off your religious bandwagon."

"Public faith in Yevon may be shaken," Wilkommen said darkly. "But you are far from redemption, filthy heretic. I should thank you, however," he added, his malicious smile returning. "With your death, the attack of your little Al Bhed friends will be easily construed as revenge. Then I'll have the license to kill as many of you dogs as I can."

"Hypocrite..." Gippal growled through clenched teeth. "If you do this, no one will support you! Who would advocate a religion based on murderers!"

"Haha!" Wilkommen laughed nastily. "That's why you Al Bhed are such fools! Don't you see how Spira depends on us already? No one questioned your arrest– they certainly won't question your just execution!" Wilkommen advanced on Gippal now, his eyes wild with vindication. "Spira needs us now more than ever! Without us, there would be no law, no order, and certainly no life!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gippal said, stepping backward toward the end of the bridge. "You're totally insane; your whole vision of a 'god' was skewed from the start! Yevon was a parasite, using Sin to feed off the people of this planet! All he did was destroy, not create!" Wilkommen laughed madly, and Gippal only stared at him in disbelief. Was he going to die here, at the hands of a madman?

"It has always been our purpose! To keep the 'spiral of death' spinning..." Wilkommen waved his gun at Gippal, forcing him to back peddle to the very edge of where the bridge dropped off. He glanced down while Wilkommen carried on.

"Your wretched souls are all fodder for the true believers! I'll kill every last one of you, in the name of Yevon!" With a great cry, Wilkommen dove for Gippal, seeming to forget his firearm in his frenzy. Gippal ducked and rolled past him, away from the edge of the bridge. He turned quickly, hoping to find that Wilkommen had barreled right over the edge of the bridge, but saw the great commander just as he spun around, breathing heavily at the edge.

"Ha... ha… Now..." Wilkommen steadied his gun at Gippal's head. Gippal only glared at him. There was a pause, as the men glared at each other with the utmost contempt, before a single gunshot cut through the thick silence. Gippal's breath caught in his throat. He watched as several feet away, Wilkommen grasped vaguely at his chest, drawing it away covered in blood. He looked at Gippal, dazed, before blood spilled over his lips and he sank to his knees. He coughed once before falling on his face. Gippal walked cautiously to the edge of the bridge where Wilkommen lay dying and removed the gun from his slack grip. He resisted the urge to kick the man over the edge as he looked down at the fallen commander, who was laughing softly in a pool of his own blood. "Ha ha... it doesn't matter," Wilkommen said, his eyes glazed. "If I die, you all die, and the spiral keeps spinning..." Gippal grimaced as blood gurgled out of Wilkommen's mouth and his chest stopped heaving. The commander of the Grand Bevelle Legion was dead. Gippal stepped past him and looked over the edge.

"Took you long enough," he grunted as he crouched down to jump over the edge. A pair of almond-shaped brown eyes stared critically back at him.

"You're just damn lucky this thing was passing underneath me when I fell," Anje retorted. Once Gippal was on the platform, she tilted the joystick that controlled the platform upward and they sailed to the exit above them.

"When I looked down and saw you, I just about had a heart attack anyway," Gippal said, smiling now. Anje looked smug.

"I'm half Guado," the assassin smirked. "Deception is in my blood."

- - -

"Tidus, I'm worried about Isaaru and Maroda. Will you please take Buddy and Brother with you and go check it out?"

"No way! I'm not leaving you here to wait for the whole advance guard to come after you!"

Yuna sighed. "Rikku and Paine will be with me, Tidus. And we've been over this– I'm not a poor, defenseless little summoner anymore."

Tidus crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his wife stubbornly. "Why don't you send Paine with Buddy and Brother, and I'll go with you and Rikku–"

Yuna opened her mouth to argue again, and Rikku rolled her eyes. They had been hoovering near the High Bridge of Bevelle for the past fifteen minutes while Tidus and Yuna argued over teams. They had never received a confirmation transmission from Isaaru and Maroda, which led Yuna to believe they'd been found out. She wanted to send two groups down– one to rescue Gippal, the other to find the brothers– but Tidus was falling back into his old guardian role, if not his new husband role. "Look," Yuna was saying now as she moved her thumb over her garment grid, sliding her Warrior's dress sphere into place. The light around her became hazy and distorted as her Gunner's outfit melted into the sharp, heavy-plated armor of the Warrior. She swung the Brotherhood over her shoulder confidently. "See? I can look out for myself now. Let me go with Paine and Rikku."

Tidus was now eying her sword suspiciously. Before he could say, "Hey, is that my sword?" Yuna ushered him over to the hatch where Buddy and Brother stood waiting. "You guys go first– draw the soldiers away from the temple entrance and back around to the guard house where we received Isaaru's last transmission. When the coast is clear, we'll go in the front way and start searching the temple top to bottom. I think we know that place pretty well by now..." Tidus only glared at Yuna as she won the battle but wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he drew the Caladbolg and marched to the end of hatch door.

"Shhiinnraaa!" Brother screeched into the intercom. Rikku winced.

"Yeah?" came Shinra's bored response. He'd officially left the Gullwings when they'd broken up, but when Yuna had asked him at the last minute to help out with this mission, he'd happily agreed. Though he didn't have to let Brother know that.

"Take us in!" Brother shouted gleefully. He turned to Buddy, who was shaking his head sadly at Brother's unchecked enthusiasm. "Finally! We are the ones taking the missions! Yeehaw!" Rikku was suddenly and violently reminded of her father's battle cry when he had been steering the ship over two years ago. She shuddered as she set her garment grid to Alchemist.

"You guys ready?" she looked over to where Yuna stood next to Paine, who was also in her Warrior's garb.

"Ready!" Yuna said brightly, giving Rikku a thumbs-up. Paine rolled her eyes.

"Ready as I'll ever be to drag Gippal's worthless hide out of trouble again, sure," she muttered. But Rikku smiled.

"Great! Then let's go!" Rikku felt a great swooping feeling in her stomach as Shinra steered the ship into a plummeting descent. Everyone stumbled toward a wall and held on tight as the ship careened toward the High Bridge. Rikku thought she could already hear the alarms being raised.

"Okay!" Buddy shouted over the rushing wind that blew up from the open hatch. "We're gonna jump! Get ready– one, two, three!" He, Brother, and Tidus each ducked and jumped as Shinra nearly scraped the _Celcius's_ paint job onto the High Bridge. Rikku leaned forward just enough to see the boys rolling safely onto the bridge before Shinra took them in a great loop back around the temple.

"Are you ready for another round, Yuna?" came Shinra's lisping voice over the intercom.

"You bet! Take us around!" Yuna shouted. Rikku was beginning to feel distinctly motion-sick as Shinra began the second descent. This time she braced herself as she stood near the open hatch, waiting for the moment to jump. _Gippal, please be okay_, she prayed inwardly. "Ready Rikku?" Yuna squeezed Rikku's hand reassuringly. Rikku nodded.

"Three," Paine said on her other side. "Two, one– let's go!" Together, the three of them jumped head-first onto the ground. It didn't feel nearly as graceful as the boys had made it seem. Rikku's shoulder hit the ground and she rolled immediately head over heels before coming to a skidding stop on her back. She looked up dazedly where Paine was already standing over her, offering her a hand. "Come on Rikku, they've already spotted us."

"Looks like they've had time to prepare," Yuna said bracingly. "I see three waves coming through the door."

"Alright!" Rikku said in what she hoped was a determined voice as she wavered on her feet. "Let's get kicking butt and taking names!" She drew her machine gun and sprinted for the door with Yuna and Paine hot on her heels. Three long-legged machina hopped menacingly to the foreground, forcing Rikku to stop her charge. Paine immediately rushed in for the first blow and carved a long, deep gash up the machina's breast plate. Sparks showered in all directions and the machina crumpled to the ground, defeated. Meanwhile, Yuna was already at work on the second, taking aim at its legs and severing them at the exposed joints. That left one right in front of Rikku. Realizing it was too late to switch dress spheres to her Thief costume, which had the tools to disable the machina in one blow, Rikku rolled to the side and emptied a clip into the machina's head. Unfazed, the great machine towered over her and thrust its powerful leg into her stomach. "Ugh!" Rikku gasped as she hit the ground a few feet away. Paine immediately took advantage of the machine's attention on Rikku to skewer it through the back.

"Come on, Rikku!" the warrior called as she pressed on. "Quit messing around!" Rikku glared at Paine as she picked herself up and rushed to help Yuna with the second wave.

"I'm not messing around!" she shouted, thrusting her hands into her deep pockets and removing several potions. She chucked one at the ground where it exploded in a shower of green and blue light, filling her aching abdominal muscles with relief. She extracted a small white gem from another pocket and shoved it into the other potion. "Get back!" she called. Paine and Yuna immediately stepped back from the group of flamethrower-wielding soldiers as Rikku lobbed her makeshift bomb into the crowd. A series of dazzling white explosions erupted on impact, and Rikku shielded her eyes. When the dust cleared, all the soldiers were lying unconscious on the ground. Paine nodded at Rikku.

"Good job, let's press on," she said, hoisting her sword over her back with Yuna following suit. The girls rushed through the great temple doors into a mist-filled antechamber with walkways leading to doors on either side. Between them, an aisle led straight up the middle to a drop off, where mist rolled over the edge and into darkness. Yuna nodded at Paine and each took a separate walkway, leaving Rikku to investigate the middle aisle. She cautiously peered over the edge into the fathomless blackness, but saw no way to descend safely. She looked up, where she remembered a hoovering platform that used to transport the praetor between the different levels of the temple. The platform was nowhere in sight. With a sigh, Rikku headed back up the aisle to meet Yuna and Paine at the apex.

"The one on the right leads to the Via Infinito," Yuna confirmed, shifting her sword on her shoulder uncomfortably.

"There are only controls for the main platform on the left," Paine added. Rikku bit her lip.

"I don't see the platform anywhere," she said, looking to Yuna for support. "That's the only way down to the gaol, isn't it?" Yuna bit her lip in concentration, but before either of the girls could offer a solution, Rikku noticed a steadily approaching humming noise coming from behind them. She turned and drew her machine gun.

"That must be the platform returning," Yuna said unnecessarily. "Did you hit the recall button, Paine?"

"No..." the other woman said suspiciously, drawing her own weapon now. "Careful, it could be carrying more soldiers." The three of them waited tensely as the platform continued its slow ascent. The wait seemed excruciating, until the humming sound abruptly stopped. Rikku glanced nervously at Yuna.

"What happened?" she said in a hushed voice, as a silence had fallen over the room. "Why did it stop?" Yuna only shook her head, but Paine narrowed her eyes.

"It's stopped just below the ledge," Paine said in a whisper. "Whoever is down there is waiting to see if anyone's up here before showing themselves." Before Rikku could ask what they were going to do, a hand suddenly reached up from underneath the ledge and grabbed hold. Rikku stifled a scream as whoever was on the platform started to heave himself up from below. "I'm going to see who it is," Paine said, now advancing down the long aisle to intercept the climber. Yuna held her back.

"No, wait– they're nearly there, and they've got a gun..." Indeed, both of the climber's arms were visible as the person used his elbows to hoist himself up, holding a gun in one hand. The girls made to duck behind nearby pillars when all the air suddenly rushed out of Rikku in one fell swoop.

"Gippal!" she managed to say in a strangled, half-shout. Gippal's blond head was now visible as he pulled himself up from the stopped platform. Before he could stand up properly, the platform beneath him started to move again, revealing another occupant. Rikku barely had time to catch her breath when it fled her again.

"Gippal, look out!" Paine shouted as the assassin who had tried to kill Rikku rose behind Gippal, who looked around dazedly.

"Paine, what are you– " he started to say, when he saw Rikku aiming her Alchemist's machine gun over his shoulder. Anje immediately recognized Rikku, and she raised her own weapon to take aim. "Wait, Rikku–!" Gippal started toward her, but he was too late. Rikku pulled the trigger and her bullets slammed into Anje's left side. The assassin let out a choked cry of surprise before squeezing off a shot, which missed Rikku by an inch. "Anje!" Gippal cried out, spinning around and rushing to the fallen assassin's side. Everyone, including Rikku who was so stunned she had not yet lowered her weapon, stared as Gippal knelt beside the fallen woman turned her over to inspect her wounds. "Yuna!" he called out. "Yuna, can you help me? She's still breathing."

As Yuna ran over to help Gippal and the wounded assassin, Rikku's mind was reeling. _I don't understand, wasn't she trying to kill him? I'm sure that's the same woman who kidnaped me and nearly killed Gippal at Baaj..._ Paine was suddenly at her side, eyes narrowed as she watched Gippal and Yuna try to save the assassin's life. The former was applying pressure to the bleeding wounds in Anje's gut while Yuna frantically cast healing spells. "Paine, I don't understand..." Rikku looked up at the other woman with tears in her eyes. "What have I done?"


	21. A Little Revelation

- - -

Chapter 21

A Little Revelation

- - -

Standing in the corner of the _Celcius's_ yet unofficial hospital wing, Rikku was beginning to feel as though she should take up permanent residence considering how much time she seemed to be spending here lately. If she wasn't a patient herself, she was always here visiting someone.

_Even if that someone is one of the last people on Spira I'd be worried about_, Rikku thought with mild irritation. After she had shot Anje for what Rikku had thought was good reason, Gippal had shocked everyone by insisting that they take her back to the ship with them. Stunned at the turn of events, Rikku had merely followed as Gippal carried Anje back to the ship. Tidus, Buddy, and Brother, now accompanied by Maroda, Isaaru, and their little brother Pacce, covered their escape, drawing the soldiers deeper into the city where they had managed to slip out unnoticed. Now that Shinra had collected everyone, they all convened in the tiny space above the bar where Yuna was finishing her White Mage ministrations on Gippal's would-be assassin.

"I don't understand, what happened to you guys?" Yuna was now questioning the ex-summoner Isaaru and his guardian brothers. "How did they catch on to our plan so fast?" Isaaru gave a long-suffering sigh.

"It seems the Order of Yevon never truly trusted Maroda and me after all. What with Maroda being an ex-Youth League supporter and myself being a disgraced summoner, they were ready for us to be in contact with you."

"Commander Wilkommen was sure you'd try to come and rescue the Machine Faction leader," Maroda supplied bitterly. "Guess my promotion wasn't just a lucky break after all."

"I'm sorry," Yuna apologized sincerely. "I would never have asked if I'd known you'd get into so much trouble."

"Don't worry, Lady Yuna," Pacce wrinkled his nose at her. "I didn't like that place very much, anyway. The monks were always telling the Kinderguardians to stop running in the halls." Yuna giggled, but Paine turned to Maroda, probably figuring him to be the more serious of the three brothers.

"So you all managed to escape rather easily, not to undermine Brother's methods," Paine said with only a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah," Maroda began, ignoring Brother's sputtering protests to Paine's comment. "After they used us to contact you, we were not considered such a big security threat. They just put us under house arrest, but we still owe you one for breaking us out." Maroda nodded to Tidus and Buddy, once again not noticing Brother's wild gesticulations that he was the leader to be recognized.

"It was nothing!" Tidus said with a lazy grin as he stretched. "At least, we didn't see as much action as the girls did. Anyone want to fill me in on why we're taking care of Rikku's kidnapper?" He nodded to where Anje lay on a nearby bed, fully conscious and glaring silently at everyone in the room. Gippal sat beside her looking wholly unconcerned with his arms behind his head and feet propped up.

"She helped me escape," Gippal said simply. Ruefully, Rikku could not help but notice that he had not so much as looked in her direction since she had shot Anje. This had helped transform her shock and regret for her shotgun actions to irritation and resentment for not doing it sooner, and she was privately thankful to Tidus for reminding everyone that Anje was their enemy.

"Yeah, after she tried to kill you!" Rikku couldn't help but voice her opinion. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe she was only leading you into their hands the whole time?" Gippal pretended to inspect his fingernails.

"I had it under control," he said. His passive answers only served to fuel Rikku's anger.

"She could have shot you in the back!"

"But she didn't. She shot Wilkommen instead."

"So you trust her?"

"Not really," and he paused to smile his trademark playboy grin at the scowling Anje. "But I just can't leave a lady in distress." This seemed to tip Rikku over the edge. She sent Gippal one last scathing glance before storming down the stairs.

"Fine!" she shouted over her shoulder. "The next time someone tries to kill you, I'll arrange for a wedding instead of a rescue!"

Paine glared at Gippal, though he was watching Rikku retreat and didn't notice the world of pain promised in the look she was giving him. Yuna cleared her throat pointedly. "Rikku has a point, Gippal. Your friend has some explaining to do." Anje had not yet spoken one word of gratitude to Yuna for healing her, and the look on her face did not indicate that she would start any time soon.

"I don't owe anyone an explanation," she spat out. "As soon as I can stand, I'm out of here."

"Why wait?" Paine asked, her lips curving into a small, mocking smile. "We're only several miles above the ground, and I wouldn't mind helping to throw you out the hatch." Yuna uttered a soft noise of exclamation while everyone else tried not to laugh at Paine's not-so-gentle admonition, including Gippal, who was biting his lips to keep from smiling too obviously.

"I think I can explain, Yuna," Gippal said finally. "I had some quality time with Commander Wilkommen just before his timely demise." He cleared his throat importantly, drawing the silent attention of everyone in the room.

"As far as I can tell, he had a serious grudge against us Al Bhed," he said, sparing a glance at Anje, who shot him a look to wither grass. "And he kept blathering on about 'the spiral of death–'"

"He was talking about the Order's plans," Anje interrupted bitterly. Tidus suddenly looked as if he'd been struck by a lightning bolt.

"Hey, I remember Paine talking about something like that!" he said excitedly. "Um, what exactly is 'The Order?'"

"'The Holy Order of Yevon,'" Isaaru said quickly. "They are the background leaders of Yevon, even higher up than the praetor and the old maesters."

"It's said that they make all the real decisions in Spira," Maroda added darkly. "Most people don't even know of their existence, because they prefer to use praetors and maesters as the face of Yevon."

"They're pretty stuck in their ways," Gippal said now, and everyone turned to look at him. "Yeah yeah, I know about them too. They fucking hate the Al Bhed."

"Because you're heretics," Anje added with distaste. "They were planning to use the Al Bhed as scape goats to start a war. By framing Gippal and sparking Al Bhed retaliation, they could use it as an excuse."

"To keep the 'spiral' spinning?" Yuna offered.

"To keep fueling the Farplane," came a voice by the stairwell. Everyone turned to watch as Shinra walked over, carrying a small sphere. "I've been doing a lot of research on the Farplane since we destroyed Vegnagun. I was right when I said it was a near-limitless source of energy– but it's the energy of souls."

"What?" Yuna gasped, horrified.

"It's a well-known fact that the souls of the departed convene in the Farplane," Paine said absently, as if she were turning the idea over in her head. "And if they can be used as an energy source..."

"Then the more souls, the more energy," Tidus finished grimly. "They wanted to start a war to send more souls to the Farplane."

"And then use the energy?" Yuna directed her question at Shinra.

"That's right. Like I said, with a little work, the extracted energy could be turned into a useable form..."

"To re-create the city that never sleeps..." Paine finished.

"Zanarkand?" Tidus asked.

"History repeats itself, I guess..." Paine shrugged her shoulders. "The war one thousand years ago may have been sparked for the same reasons. Maybe there was an energy crisis. We know Yevon definitely came to power after the advent of Sin."

"We can't let them get away with this!" Tidus said, jumping to his feet. "It'd be the end of the Calm!"

"It could spawn another Sin..." Isaaru said darkly. But Gippal shook his head.

"Don't jump to conclusions," he said as he stood up and stretched. "First things first– I need a drink."

"Gippal!" Yuna said, hands on her hips and looking distinctly mother hen-ish.

"Seriously, Yunie," Gippal said, earning a frown from Tidus for the use of the familiarity. "How many times are we going to butt heads with Yevon today? I think we all need to just take a breather and relax for a minute. They're not going to start a war today."

Paine snorted. "You think they're not going to use your escape as an excuse? Not to mention the murder of the Grand Bevelle Legion's commander..." Gippal merely shrugged before turning to address Anje.

"You just cool your heels a bit, okay? Yuna's a top-class healer but you're going to need to rest awhile."

"As if I had anywhere else to go," the assassin muttered, drawing the sheets up to her chin. "Yevon's after me too, remember?"

"Shinra," Yuna said, easily slipping back into her previous "Gullwing Leader" mode. "Can you hang around a while longer and man the commspheres?"

"I'm on it," Shinra said quickly as he ran back to the stairs. "I'll keep the sphere wave network open and listen for any disturbing frequencies." There was a smile evident in his voice as he turned to look over his shoulder. "It's good to be back," he added before scurrying down the stairs.

Buddy smiled and thumped Brother on the back, who had been blessedly silent throughout most of the conversation. "You ready for another fight, man?" he asked in Al Bhed. Brother only scowled.

"I will follow Yuna back to the ends of Spira if I have to," he muttered before striking a pose. "Onwaard!" he cried before running down the stairs after Shinra. Buddy merely shook his head as he followed in Brother's wake.

"Maroda, Isaaru," Yuna said, now turning to the brothers. "It looks like we're in this for the long run. Do you want to stick around?"

"Hey, don't forget me, Lady Yuna!" Pacce quipped. "I'm the captain of the Kinderguardians, remember? I can help, too!" Isaaru smiled down at his younger brother.

"It seems that Pacce has cast our vote for us," he said, turning to give Yuna the age-old Yevon salute out of habit. "You can count on us."

"We'll start sending out telespheres to some contacts around Bevelle," Maroda said, his tone instantly all-business. "Maybe we can help keep things calm on the front."

"Excellent!" Gippal clapped his hands together as the brothers departed for the bridge. "I'll send a telesphere to Cid... ah, does anyone know where he is, by the way?"

"He stayed behind at Djose," Yuna said. "After the fight, no one wanted to leave the temple, so he's holding down the fort."

"Okay, then," Gippal said, looking pleased with Cid's decision to keep the temple. "I'll give Djose the heads up. But first, I hear you have a full bar downstairs..."

Tidus shook his head as the Machine Faction Leader strode purposefully down the stairs and out of sight. "That guy really has a one-track mind, doesn't he?"

"He certainly does," Paine muttered as she walked over to stand by the railing that overlooked the bar below. "That's why he's walking straight past the bar to the elevator."

"Huh?" Tidus said, walking over to join her. They watched as Gippal disappeared behind the doors leading to the elevator's corridor. "Where's he going?"

"Rikku," Yuna murmured softly, smiling as she took Tidus's hand in hers. Paine only shrugged her shoulders.

"At least he's got his priorities straight," she muttered before heading toward the stairwell. Yuna immediately grinned.

"So you're okay with them, then?"

"Until he breaks Rikku's heart, that is," Paine's voice called up as she descended the stairs. "Then he'll have to answer to me." Tidus visibly shuddered and waited until Paine was out of earshot to murmur to Yuna.

"I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon."

"Why's that?" Yuna asked playfully as the couple walked over to the stairs.

"I don't think any guy would be in a hurry to drop Rikku with Paine glaring at him over his shoulder... That is one scary lady."

- - -

Rikku paused in her angry pacing only long enough to stomp her foot on the ground in frustration. What was that jerk thinking? How could he be taking the assassin's side, after all the trouble she'd caused? Instead it was Rikku who was taking the blame for messing up, when she was only trying to protect him.

"Hmph," Rikku vocalized her displeasure. "I should have known that Gippal would forgive any girl wearing clothes _that_ tight. She looks like an over-stuffed sausage in all that red leather!"

_But that's not really it_, Rikku argued to herself, feeling her anger ebb away and depression set in. She sat down at the front of the deck, right beside the gullwing hood ornament that Brother lovingly polished daily. _It's because I really believed he cared about me_. _Every time I assume something, it turns out wrong..._

Rikku's spine suddenly stiffened at the sound of the elevator doors hissing open and closed. She braced herself as the sound of booted footsteps approached, though she made no move to greet them. When Gippal finally stopped beside her, he merely stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring out over the perfect blue expanse of the sky. Rikku curled in on herself, drawing her knees up to her chest, not ready for whatever "talk" Gippal was about to bestow her. He spared her a glance.

"Feeling sorry for yourself?" Gippal asked in brisk Al Bhed. Rikku didn't answer; she dropped her forehead to rest on her knees.

"You should be," he said, returning his gaze to the horizon. Rikku squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry.

"Because if it had been me in your position," Gippal went on mildly. "I would have made sure I shot her in the head."

"...What?" Rikku looked up at him to see him looking down at her with a smug smile.

"I would have killed her, if I had been you. If I'd seen the woman who had kidnapped and tortured you sneak up from behind, I would have shot her dead without a second thought."

"Gippal..."

"Stop pouting. I'm not mad at you."

Rikku sniffed indignantly. "As if I'd pout over _you_," she lied. In truth, she had been very worried that Gippal would never forgive her.

"Come here," he said, grabbing one of her hands and yanking her to her feet. Rikku glared at him but refrained from yelling at him for pulling her around like a rag doll. He held on to her hands.

"I was afraid that you'd come looking for me," he said, now staring at her intently. Rikku swallowed hard.

"And I was afraid you'd do something stupid," she interrupted hoarsely. "Like try to escape Yevon on your own."

"Now why would I do something stupid like that?" he asked as he reached up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Rikku's ear. She suddenly felt a little dizzy and closed her eyes.

"Because you are... stupid," she said haltingly. Gippal had closed much of the space between them and his face was mere inches from hers.

"I have something of yours," he said, his lips brushing lightly over her forehead. Rikku tried to suppress a shiver and didn't notice that he held something else in his hand. He stepped back slightly and opened his fist. Rikku stared at it.

"What is that?" she asked, squinting.

"Recognize it? It's a compass." He turned the rusty hunk of metal over in his hand. "You gave it to me only about 100 years ago."

"Yeah, I bet," she said sarcastically. "It's broken."

"I know, you broke it," he said, smiling. "Here." He took her hand again and closed her fingers around the compass. She opened her palm again and stared at an inscription on the back.

"'Find your way...?'" she read aloud, and a dawn of understanding slowly rose to her mind. "This is..."

"I found my way, Rikku," he said, pulling her close again. "I found my way back to you..."

Rikku recognized it. It was her mother's heirloom that she'd lost long ago. Though she didn't quite recall ever giving it to Gippal, that seemed to matter very little as he leaned in and kissed her, his lips catching hers softly. "And now I'm never going to lose you again," he murmured. Rikku silently agreed as she sought to kiss him again, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing herself as close to him as she could. They stayed like that for several blissful moments before Gippal pulled away.

"What is it?" Rikku asked as Gippal was now squinting at something intently over her shoulder.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, his grip tightening around her waist. "That buzzing noise..." Rikku turned around to see what he was staring at, and her heart suddenly leapt in shock.

"Airships?" she asked incredulously. "Those are approaching airships! Where did they come from?"

"I'll give you one guess," Gippal said, glaring into the horizon where a cluster of black dots appeared to be growing larger. "I was wrong. It looks like Yevon really does want to start a war today."

"Rikku! Gippal!" Yuna's voice called suddenly over the outdoor intercom. "Get back inside quickly! Bevelle's sent a battle fleet!"

"Come on!" Gippal grabbed Rikku's hand and ran for the elevator, dragging her along with him just as a hail of gunfire descended on them. "Looks like they want a fight!" Rikku nearly fell against the operating console in the elevator as the salvo rocked the ship, and hazard alarms started going off. Rikku pressed the button to take them to the bridge, but the elevator wouldn't budge.

"What's the matter?" Gippal asked as he made his way over to the console. Another wave of gunfire struck the ship.

"It's stuck!" Rikku grunted as she tugged on the emergency-release lever. "It must have locked up when the alarms were triggered!"

"Rikku!" Yuna's voice called over the intercom again. "You can't use the elevator!"

"Thanks for the update, Captain!" Gippal retorted.

"You have to use the emergency shaft," Yuna said quickly, sounding panicked. "Check the floor, Brother says there should be a hatch..."

"Oh, Brother says so?" said Gippal sarcastically. "Well, I sure feel safe now!" Rikku dropped to the floor and began groping around, searching for an indent. When she found it, she nodded to Gippal.

"You should be able to slide right down into to the engine room," Yuna went on as Gippal bent down to help Rikku pull open the trap door. "Once you're there, reset the alarm syst–" The intercom suddenly cut to static as a particularly heavy blow struck the side of the ship.

"Yuna!" Rikku cried out, but Gippal grabbed her arm.

"Come on Rikku, it's not safe here!" he said as the ominous grating sound of elevator brakes under pressure could be heard from underneath them.

"...kku," the intercom crackled feebly. "...an't fight now, too many of them... ...oing to try to run... ...old on..." The ship suddenly lurched forward, and Rikku collided into Gippal.

"You go first!" he said bracingly, turning her around to face the trap door. "Hurry!"

Rikku numbly stuck her legs through the hatch door and fumbled on the slanted ramp that pulled the elevator. When her feet found purchase, she shakily started climbing down. The ship was moving very fast by then, because as Rikku descended, she could hear the usually steady hissing of the engine pistons pounding furiously. She could already feel the heat rising up from the engine room.

Soon Gippal had started down after her, and not a moment too soon— another impact exploded above them, and Rikku looked up just in time to see fire spew over the top of the hatch. The elevator began to creak, and after a series of twanging snaps, Rikku saw the emergency brakes holding the elevator in place start to bend.

"Rikku!" Gippal shouted above her. "Slide!"

Rikku didn't need to be told twice. She turned on her side and slid the rest of the way down. Gippal followed suit and crashed into her at the bottom. He immediately grabbed her arm and thrust her toward the sealed door, where she glanced up just long enough to see sparks flying out from under the brakes of the elevator above them.

"Gippal, it's falling!"

Gippal was already at work on the fuse box next to the door. "Looks like the emergency power take-over blew the fuse to open the door," he said in a tone that suggested he had all the time in the world to figure out how to fix it. Rikku shoved her fingers in between the crevices between the doors and heaved with all her might, but they wouldn't budge.

The sliding elevator began to pick up momentum. Rikku was too panicked to notice as Gippal reached into his pocket and extracted a gil, which he placed in the slot behind one of the fuses. The small coin conducted the bypassed electricity, and there was a spark. The doors hissed open. Rikku, who had been pressing herself flat against the door fell face-first onto the floor. Gippal lunged after her, and the elevator slammed into the space they had previously occupied. Rikku didn't even try to move as she lay on the floor panting. Gippal rolled over beside her and propped his head up on one arm.

"You owe me a gil," he said with a smirk. Rikku groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm so tired of nearly dying every other day," she moaned piteously as Gippal stood and tried to pull her to her feet.

"Well come on, Princess— we're not out of the woods yet." In truth, the sounds of gunfire were muffled around the constantly mashing sounds of the pistons in the engine room, though Rikku certainly did not feel safe down here. The engines were expelling copious amounts of steam (or at least more than usual), and the room was boiling hot.

"Geeze, if I didn't know any better, I'd say Yunie sent us down here to be cooked!" Rikku said, sparing a moment to switch into her minimally-clothed Thief dress sphere. Meanwhile, Gippal was grimacing at the pistons.

"Ixion, when was the last time Brother did maintenance on this?" he said, eyeing the machinery critically. "I mean, I can expect it from Brother, but Buddy really knows better..."

"Ahem!" Rikku interrupted, hands on her hips. "Could you worry a little bit less about the machina and more about our lives, please? That's just like an Al Bhed man to go all soft when it came to his machines."

"All right all right, but if this ship makes it out of this battle in one piece, I'm confiscating it for a tune up at Djose," Gippal said after picking at a flake of rust on the engine.

"Considering the elevator just fell and nearly crushed us to death, I think it's safe to say that it's going to need some work done anyway." Rikku fanned her face with her hands in a futile attempt to cool down. "Now what are we supposed to be looking for down here, anyway?"

"Alarm mechanism," Gippal said, now groping along the walls, trying to see through the thick steam. "Look for a control panel or flashing buttons or something."

Rikku bit her lips as she moved in the opposite direction, feeling her way along the wall down the stairs near the hatch door. "I don't remember every seeing anything like that..." she said, just as her hand slipped over a large button. A step away, the floor began to lower like a ramp, and steam was sucked through the opening hatch to join the atmosphere outside.

"Rikku, what are you doing?" Gippal called from somewhere deeper in the cabin. "Did you just turn on a fan?"

"I opened the door!" she yelled back. The wind rushing through the open hatch added to the cacophony of the moving pistons, and Rikku felt as if cotton balls had been stuffed into her ears. She carefully started to move away from the open hole in the floor as she felt her way back with her hands on the wall. Suddenly, the ship pitched to one side as another explosion struck the opposite wall. Rikku was immediately thrown away from the wall and fell sprawling down the ramp. One leg slipped over the edge and dangled in the open air.

"Rikku!" Gippal yelled. Rikku looked up dazedly from where she lay on the floor to see Gippal half-running, half-sliding down the ramp towards her. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her to her feet.

She stumbled, clinging to his hand when the ship heaved again— this time the strength of it felt like a whole other ship had collided with them. The force knocked Rikku completely off her feet, and she pulled Gippal with her as she fell out the door. Gippal slid half-way out the hatch before he stopped their descent, with Rikku clinging only to his hand as she dangled over the edge into the sky below them.

"Gippal!" she screamed, her fingers slipping through his sweaty hands.

"Rikku, hold on!" he yelled, grasping her arm with his other hand. He pulled himself into a crouch on one leg and then the other as he began to heave Rikku back in. A series of explosions behind him told them that the pistons had blown, and choking black smoke now billowed down at them. The airship began to lose altitude, and for the first time Gippal noticed the long expanse of desert flying beneath them.

Gippal kept pulling Rikku upward until he could grab her other arm. He shifted his grip to wrap one arm around her back, and her flailing foot finally found purchase on the very edge of the ramp. In the one second he had to look over her shoulder, he saw the incoming enemy ship just before it hurtled itself one last time into the side of the _Celcius_. Gippal lost his balance, and he and Rikku plummeted through the air to the land below.

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own the rights to_ Final Fantasy X-2,_ its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company, and obviously I'm not making any money off of this. I'm just a day dreamer with no originality to speak of!


	22. A Little Ending

* * *

Chapter 22

A Little Ending

* * *

Gippal awoke slowly, and he lay still to allow the fuzzy static of pain to clear from the back of his head before he attempted any rational thought. There was no lapse in his memory or wondering about where he was or what had happened; Gippal woke up with the memory of his plummet to the ground from the wrecked airship _Celsius_ as clearly as if he had never fallen unconscious. Yevon had rammed the ship, and he and Rikku had fallen to the sand below… 

_Rikku_… he thought, his eye snapping open. Ignoring the numbing soreness that permeated his body, Gippal sat up and stared at the sandy dunes all around him. He was certain that he was on Bikanel Island in the Sanubian desert. The dunes were smooth and undisturbed, and the expanse of cerulean sky was as clear as if a large-scale battle had not just been waged in it. There were no footprints or other signs of life around him, and Gippal was filled with a sudden urgency. He stood and tried to run up one side of the nearest dune, his boots scraping over the baked and hard-packed sand.

When he reached the top he saw a figure lying crumpled at the foot of the hill, the wind playing with its long, blonde hair. Gippal immediately slid down the side and kneeled beside Rikku, gently rolling her to one side.

"Rikku, Rikku!" he said while shaking her with one hand. The other was digging in his pocket, searching for a resuscitation potion or at least something to splash on her face. What he found was some broken glass and some spilled gooey substance that had been ruined in the fall. Rikku moaned softly.

"Rikku, wake up," Gippal said, now searching her pockets.

"Gerroff…me," Rikku mumbled, her hands weakly pushing Gippal away.

"If you don't get up, I'm going to steal all of your dress spheres."

Rikku cracked an eyelid. "You don't have a garment grid," she muttered. Gippal smiled smugly.

"I'll steal one of those, too. Then I'll walk around looking like a loud, obnoxious menace wearing far too little clothing."

Rikku winced. "Ugh, the last thing I want to see is you in a mini skirt."

"I meant you, dummy," he said, wrapping one arm under her shoulders as he prepared to help her up. "If I steal your garment grid, then I would look like you."

"Well, you've got the loud and obnoxious part already," Rikku said. "I suppose you could take off your shirt, and then we'd be just about even." Gippal grinned but said nothing as he started to pull Rikku into a sitting position. She gasped and immediately lay back down.

"What's the matter?" he asked, alarmed.

"Nothing, ah…" she began, but catching Gippal's severe glare at "nothing" she revised her answer. "Everything, I think…" Rikku grimaced through short breaths. "My ribs, maybe..." Gippal carefully ran his hands over her abdomen and just under her chest, gently feeling for the soft wounded areas. Rikku's breath caught sharply as he moved his thumb along the lines of her rib cage.

"I'm not a healer, Rikku, but I think you must have broken something." As she was only wearing the bikini top of her Thief's outfit, he could see a quickly darkening purple swell just under her ribs. Gippal's heart started racing. He was pretty sure what a wound like that could mean.

"Well thanks Doc," Rikku said feebly, trying to smile. "Am I gonna live?"

"Do you know any healing spells?" he said quickly, now searching through her pockets again. "You need to switch to a White Mage or something; I don't have any potions…"

Rikku brushed him off and started feeling around her own pockets. "Yeah, I had a pretty full grid set up before we fell…" Rikku patted her utility belt all over but produced nothing. "I think I lost it…" she said. Gippal stood up and started looking around, but Rikku shook her head.

"That's going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack," she said. Heaving a great sigh of frustration, Gippal gave up the search and returned to where Rikku was still lying on the ground. He irritably ran one gloved hand through his spiky hair before he glanced back down at Rikku, where the swelling purple bruise was becoming darker and spreading, signifying internal bleeding. Rikku watched him, reading his expression.

"We need to get you to one of the camps," he said, kneeling beside her again. "We're in the Sanubia, and judging by the temperature and the topography, I'd say we're between the Southern and Eastern Expanses."

"My old crew?" Rikku asked, taking a quick breath.

"Yes, and no doubt they've seen the airship battle. If Nhadala's still in this region, she's probably already sent out a rescue team."

"Oh, that's good…"

"Rikku…" Gippal touched his hand to her forehead, wiping away beads of sweat. He could see that she was struggling to keep her composure through a tight-lipped smile. "I'm going to have to pick you up and get you out of the sun. It's going to hurt…"

"No," she whimpered as he slipped an arm behind her back and under her knees. She cried out as he lifted her gently and his grip tightened.

"I'm sorry, Kku-Ri," he whispered as she blacked out in pain.

* * *

It was not long before Gippal found shelter from the baking temperatures in a tiny cave. It was really more like an indent in the side of a dune, but it would have to do as he laid Rikku's unconscious body back on the ground. Her face was still grimacing in pain, and her breaths came shorter and more shallowly. 

After making her as comfortable as he could, Gippal walked to the top of the dune and stared around in all directions, searching for a sign of the rescue team. The sun was at its peak and Gippal had to squint, but he thought he saw a sort of structure nearby. Suddenly filled with hope, Gippal slid back down the dune to wake Rikku. He shook her gently and she winced.

"I think I've seen the camp," he said, reaching into his holster and drawing his pistol. He nudged Rikku again and she moaned irritably. "Rikku, I'm going to leave this here with you so I can go get help. Just try to stay awake now, okay?" Rikku nodded weakly, and he bent to kiss her forehead. He set the gun within her reach in case she was attacked by one of the desert fiends.

Gippal set off toward the structure at a run. The searing mid-day temperatures and dry desert air quickly robbed him of breath and he settled into a jog, raising his hand to his forehead constantly to swipe away the sweat running down his brow. As he neared the encampment, his trot began to slow and his heart fell. Destruction. The structure was a mess of blackened, twisted metal and debris, as if the area had seen a great explosion.

Gippal walked among the rubble, trying to make sense of the situation when he entered a new area. The first thing that hit his senses was the cool smell of water. It was an oasis, unusually dense with foliage and trees surrounding a great lake of water. Gippal quickly rushed into it, and his boots slipped on the surface beneath the water. He fell and crashed into the lake, hitting something hard. He sat waist-deep in water and stared down to find that the water had collected in a man-made pool. He stared around and the realization washed over him.

_This is Home_… he thought, suddenly recognizing the ruins. _This is the old Oasis… _Though everything around it was ruined, the plants had grown back and the water had collected, continuing its cycle of life even after the destruction. Gippal stood and stared around, momentarily dumbstruck, until the sudden sound of a gun shot jolted him back to his senses.

_Rikku!_

Gippal slipped and fell to his knees again as he tried to run out of the water. He pulled himself up and tore through the ruins, running top-speed back to the carved-out dune. He slid down the side and turned just in time to watch the prone body of a dead bolt drake disintegrate into pyreflies, revealing Rikku's slight form beneath it. She was holding the gun straight up above her chest, and she looked stunned.

Gippal quickly rushed to her side and knelt down, gently extricating the smoking gun from her hands. Unable to take deep breaths, Rikku began to hyperventilate, taking erratic, shuddering gasps. Gippal quickly laid her on her back and covered her mouth with one hand, spacing his fingers so that she could breathe but forcing the air to be drawn more slowly.

"Rikku, Rikku, calm down," Gippal said as he leaned over her to stroke her face with his other hand. "It's okay now, you're okay."

"Just…out of no where," she whispered, and he drew his hand away from her mouth. She stared up at him, tears in the corners of her eyes. "Just a stupid bolt drake, I've killed tons of them before, but this time…" Gippal leaned down to kiss the corner of her mouth, not wanting to take her breath away again.

"Ixion, I'm sorry," he muttered, his voice unsteady. "I never should have left you alone for that long." Rikku shook her head.

"What about the camp?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Gippal pulled away from her enough to look her in the eyes.

"We're farther south than I thought," he said carefully. "We're near the ruins of Home."

"Home?"

Gippal took a deep breath. "Don't worry, that means that the _Celsius_ had to have flown over at least two encampments. Someone had to have seen the crash, and we're only a hover's ride away from the Southern base. I can walk there if I have to…"

"Don't!" Rikku said desperately, clutching is arm tightly. "Don't leave me… alone again." Gippal glanced down at the wound in her belly and found almost half her torso had turned black from congealed blood.

"Rikku, I've got to get you some help," he said steadily, trying to make her understand. "I can't carry you that far as fast as I could bring someone here…"

"Just wait," she pleaded softly, loosening her grip on his arm. "Just wait, I'm sure someone will come…"

For the rest of the day, Gippal sat above the dune while Rikku lay below. Gippal was frustrated and tired as he waited in the blistering sun for a sign of rescue. Every so often Rikku would make a noise to bring Gippal back into the shade, which served the dual purpose of keeping her awake. Finally, the sun began its fast descent from the sky. Rikku called Gippal back down into the cave.

"I want to go Home," she said weakly, barely able to keep her eyes open. It took him a moment before Gippal realized she was talking about the ruins.

"I don't think I should move you," he said slowly, staring at her wound. "I can go there to get water but…" Rikku interrupted him with a sharp intake of breath. Every labored gasp stabbed at Gippal, and the only thing keeping him from heading straight into the desert for help was the fear of leaving Rikku to fend for herself.

"Please Gippal," she whispered. "I feel like I have to see it one more time."

"You can see it when you're healed…"

"Gippal…" Rikku stared up at him. He was so unused to seeing her as helpless as she was, but when she looked at him she communicated something different. Instead of being the whiny, bossy, or pouty "little girl" he always teased, she looked wiser, stronger, more certain…

"Okay," he said finally, winning a tiny smile from her. "It might help to be nearer to the landmark. And I didn't have a real good look around there, anyway. There might be a radio or maybe even a vehicle I could fix to get us out of here."

"Thank you, Gippal," she said before she bit her lip to keep from crying out as he lifted her. When he had picked her up and was holding her securely against his chest, she kissed the closest corner of his face she could reach, just under his jaw. Gippal moved quickly, trying not to jostle her too much as he walked across the desert plain. The sun was sinking quickly, and Rikku pointed at some of the stars that began to come into view.

"I remember that one," she said, pointing to a dim little light just over the horizon. "Dad used to tell me that was the chariot of the fire aeon, Ifrit."

"Really," Gippal smiled as Rikku rested her head on his shoulder. "Who would have thought the leader of the Al Bhed believed in mythology?" Rikku giggled.

"He was just teasing me. You should have seen the way he tried to hide his smile when he said it. He'd say, 'Don't stay out after dark or else the fire demon will get you!'" Rikku paused. "I think I remember my mom scolding him when he made Brother scared of the dark."

"So that's why Brother is so screwed up," Gippal laughed. "Your father scared the living daylights out of him."

Rikku shook her head, smiling. "I'm a firm believer that he was kidnapped by cactuars and raised in the wild before I was born… I wonder if he's alright now, and everyone else on the airship…" A sobering silence fell over the couple as they neared the outskirts of the ruins of Home. Rikku lifted her head to get a better view. Gippal allowed Rikku her silence as he carried her past the wreckage of her old home. Although he had been raised outside the complex, he believed that all Al Bhed shared the same feeling of belonging whenever they came to this place, ruined or not.

When he came to the Oasis, he felt Rikku's breath catch. "I can't believe it's still here," she murmured, and Gippal made his way through the long grass toward a small copse of trees. "This was my favorite place at Home. It was like having two worlds in one, the desert and the lake shore." Gippal carefully lowered Rikku to the ground, but Rikku situated herself so that she was half sitting up with her shoulders and head supported by the trunk of a palm tree. "Did you ever come here?" she asked.

"Yeah," Gippal said quietly. "Once, a long time ago." He sat beside her and Rikku let her head drop to the side to rest on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her back so that she shifted her weight to rest against him. The sun had set and the sky was re-lighting with stars.

"That's what I love about the desert," Gippal said. "It's always bright, no matter what time of day it is." He glanced down at the top of Rikku's head. Her breathing had become even and steady, and he supposed she had fallen asleep. "It's always beautiful," he murmured, reaching over to brush her hair away from her face. "No matter the circumstances."

**

* * *

**

A faint buzzing noise was what woke Gippal. He stared around, collecting his bearings as he remembered where he was. He glanced down at Rikku, who remained motionless against his side. His left arm was numb where she had laid her head, and he shifted her weight so that she lay across his lap. The faint light of dawn made Rikku's pale face seem to glow, and her bloodless lips had turned almost blue. Alarmed, Gippal shook her.

"Rikku! Wake up!" Gippal quickly pressed his fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. He panicked when he couldn't find it, and shook her again hoping that it was just too faint to feel while she slept.

Meanwhile, the buzzing noise that had awoken him grew louder. Across the semi-artificial lake, Gippal could see a streaking dust cloud circling the perimeter. "Hey!" Gippal yelled, though he knew the driver of the hover couldn't hear him from across the lake and over the noise of the motor. Gippal gently laid Rikku on the ground before he took off through the underbrush, chasing the fleeing hover.

Fearing it would not circle around the lake again, Gippal took a short cut through the ruins, intending to intercept the hover on the other side. He ran and leapt over debris, passing straight through where solid walls used to be. He was ahead of the vehicle as it approached from the right, and he would cut it off if he could get to the other side in time. Gippal ducked through the blown-out shell of one of Home's many rooms and ran through a collapsed hallway.

Climbing over more debris, Gippal stood at the top of a pile of sand and metal as the hover approached. He waved his arms over his head, and felt a rush of relief as the hover abruptly changed course and headed straight for him. It slowed as it approached, and he thought he could see a long ponytail whipping along behind the driver. Hoping it was Yuna, Gippal leapt off the junk heap and jogged to meet her.

As the vehicle neared, Gippal saw the driver was none other than Anje, his former assassin. Instantly on guard, Gippal waited until the hover came to a complete stop before approaching.

"Well if it isn't the Machine Faction Leader," Anje said with a smug grin. "Still alive, I see."

"I need you to drive to the other side of the lake," Gippal said, not wasting time mincing words. "We need to get Rikku back to the camp, she's—"

"I'm not going back there."

Gippal stopped half-way through climbing up into the co-pilot's seat. "What?"

"I'm not going back there," Anje repeated simply, re-igniting the engine. The hover buzzed back to life and Anje toggled the clutch. "Yevon is there."

"What are you talking about?" Gippal asked, growing angry. "Rikku is dying! She needs help, don't you get it?"

"Like I care," Anje said huffily. "I just busted my ass escaping that camp they commandeered, and now I'm getting the hell off this island." She depressed the accelerator and the hover shot off again, away from the Oasis. Gippal grabbed the clutch and jerked downward, immediately causing the hover to arrest. The forward momentum threw them both forward, and Anje hit the steering wheel, knocking the breath out of her. Gippal pulled her into his own seat while he took hers.

"What… the _hell_ is wrong with you?" she screeched as Gippal spun the hover around and sped back toward the Oasis.

"You were going in the wrong direction," Gippal said plainly as he ramped over a chunk of metal. Anje glared at him but was forced to concentrate on not being thrown out of the hover. They sped into the grassy clearing near the lake and Gippal slowed as they approached a clump of trees. He parked the hover and jumped back to the ground.

"Stay there," he called back to Anje as he jogged over to where Rikku lay. Anje just sat huffily in her seat and watched as Gippal gently scooped Rikku up and carried her back to the hover. Anje blanched as Gippal lay Rikku carefully back down in the space between the two chairs.

"What the hell happened to her?" she asked, taking in the large, mottled bruise that covered Rikku's torso. Gippal slammed the clutch into overdrive as they shot of toward the south.

"Accident," Gippal yelled over the loud cacophony of the engine. "Now tell me what happened to the camp. Where's the _Celsius_?"

Anje scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "We crashed, obviously. Yevon caught up and forced us to surrender. But being the stupid fools that they are, they also wrecked their own ship when they rammed us. They marched us to the nearest camp and announced that they were taking over. You really ought to better equip your outposts. They surrendered immediately."

"They're not military outposts," Gippal said without missing a beat. "And why did Yuna surrender in the first place?"

"They told her that they would make things worse for you. I think Yuna thought she could negotiate your freedom." Anje looked thoughtful for a moment. "She's not very bright is she? Kind of a valley girl."

"Whatever," Gippal said, growing irritated. "So everyone's being held hostage at the camp?"

"Yeah, the same camp you're heading straight into, by the way. You're just going to get us all killed."

Gippal ignored this last jibe as he punched the accelerator to the floor. A grey little dot on the horizon rapidly took the shape of the Southern base camp. The only thing that registered in his mind at that moment was getting Rikku the care she needed. Anything that came after that he was willing to pay for.

"Here we go," Anje said through gritted teeth. The camp seemed oddly deserted with no soldiers or look-outs standing outside. Gippal brought the hover to a halt before he stepped cautiously to the ground. Anje creeped around behind him, and the pair approached the main tent. Anje moved to one side of the closed tent flap and made a sharp gesture indicating to Gippal that he should be quiet. Ignoring her completely, Gippal drew his pistol and threw back the tent flap.

"Yuna!" he bellowed, marching into the tent. Before he could take another step, a pistol was leveled against the back of his head.

"Wait a minute, Gippal?" In another instant, the gun was raised and Gippal turned to see the High Summoner staring at him incredulously. "I don't believe it, you're okay!"

"Believe it," said a not altogether displeased monotone from the other corner. Paine stepped forward with a smirk on her face. "Spira has yet to invent a way to permanently get rid of Gippal Matsuda."

"And I think we've seen just about every attempt in the past week," said another voice. Gippal turned to find Micheal, the Southern Expanse's temporary camp leader who Gippal would always remember as "the shoopuf moron."

"What happened to Yevon's soldiers?" Anje asked incredulously, staring around the tent as if she expected them to be standing around during all this. "When I left, you all were tied up!"

"When you _left_," Paine said bitterly. "You didn't wait around long enough to find out that the Gullwings never give up."

"But how…"

"Look, talk about it later," Gippal interjected. "Yuna, come with me." He grabbed her wrist and pulled a surprised Yuna after him.

"What is it?" Yuna asked as they started to run back toward the hover with Paine, Anje, and Micheal in tow.

"It's Rikku," Gippal said.

"What happened to Rikku?" Micheal asked immediately. Gippal pointedly ignored him and continued to address Yuna.

"Do you have your White Mage dress sphere?"

"Yes, but tell me— oh Yevon…" Yuna caught sight of her unconscious cousin lying on the hover and ran the rest of the way. When Gippal climbed up after her, she had already activated her sphere and wore the white robes of the healing mage. She crouched down next to Rikku's head. "Oh Rikku," Yuna started to cry as she shakily ran her fingers over the blood-mottled skin.

"Sweet St. Shiva," Micheal murmured from where he stood on the ground.

"I told him she was as good as dead," Anje said, joining Micheal where he stood next to the hover. "But he had to drag her all the way back here…"

"Hurry," Gippal urged, ignoring the banter on the ground. "She's been bleeding all day."

The sound of another sphere being activated came from behind him, and he turned to find Paine wearing similar robes. She walked around to stand near Rikku's feet, opposite Yuna. "Come on, Yuna," she said, her voice deadly serious. "We can do this together." When Yuna didn't seem to be moving, Gippal turned to stare at her. The High Summoner was wringing her hands and crying, looking lost and unsure.

"Yuna, what's the matter?" Gippal asked, alarmed. "Can't you just cast a Full Cure spell or something?"

"I… Oh Yevon, I don't know," Yuna said, nearly sobbing now. "Full healing spells are supposed to be used immediately when someone is in critical condition, and they're useless if the person is unconscious. Life spells help in resuscitation, but only if…"

"If what?" Gippal had to restrain himself from shaking her. "Just use it, then! Wake her up!" Yuna sobbed harder as she laid her fingers over Rikku's blue lips.

"Healing spells don't work on the dead," Paine said quietly. Gippal looked at the other woman sharply, but Paine's gaze was fixed on Rikku's motionless body.

"But she's not dead!" Gippal shouted now, slamming his fist to the ground. "Not yet! You have to help her!" Gippal's outrage seemed to rouse Paine. She shoved up her sleeves and grabbed her staff.

"Yuna, come on. Let's try to wake her up first." When Yuna didn't move, Paine grew angry. "You trained as a White Mage for seven years!" Paine yelled. "Get it together!" Yuna bit her lip and nodded, grasping her staff tightly. Yuna began to cast the first healing spell while Paine followed suit.

Gippal watched as Rikku's body was illuminated in the warm glow of the healing magic. She did not stir, nor did the wound on her belly disappear. After several long moments without change, Gippal began to panic. He kneeled beside her and grabbed her hand.

"Rikku, please don't give up," he whispered, his voice threatening to choke. With all his attention focused on Rikku, Gippal did not hear the sound of approaching hovers. Several vehicles arrived at the camp and unloaded their passengers.

* * *

"What's going on?" asked a little duck man as he waddled toward the scene. "We saw the light over a mile away!" 

"Miles, Hemi," Micheal said, acknowledging the new arrivals. "It looks like the search has ended."

"Oh Lorenzon," Hemi gasped as she clutched the larger man's hand. "It's Rikku!"

"Boss?" Cast asked as he walked over to join the crowd, catching sight of the commotion on the nearby hover.

Anje, who had been standing on the ground watching the display of White Magic, turned to the new group. "Who are you people?" she asked.

* * *

"Something's not working," Yuna said, her voice rising in panic as she cast another spell. White light was summoned from the heavens and lit up the sky. She could barely see Rikku though it, though she knew the girl wasn't moving. 

"I think we started too strong!" Paine shouted over another unfolding spell. "Double Full Life is too much for her body to absorb!"

"Rikku," Gippal said, holding her hand as he leaned over her body to touch her face. Though she was surrounded by the warm healing light, her skin was still cold. "I still have to tell you… I have too much to tell you. Please don't leave me yet…"

"Gippal!" Paine yelled. "We need your help!"

* * *

"We're the crew from the Eastern Expanse," Hemi answered distractedly as she also watched the display of White Magic aboard the hover. "We liberated this camp from the Yevonites…" 

"What happened to Rikku?" Miles asked again. "Is she going to be okay?"

"How did you get rid of the guards?" Anje asked the woman, ignoring the duck man.

"They retreated," Hemi said dismissively. "What happened to Rikku?"

"She died," Anje said just as dismissively. "How did you get the soldiers to retreat?"

"_What!_" Cast and the duck creature cried.

* * *

"We're going to try a Drain spell!" Paine shouted as she switched her dress sphere to Thief, trading her staff for a long, curved dagger. The excess of powerful magic in the air had begun to spin and swirl around the people aboard the hover, creating a sort of whirlwind around Rikku's body. The force of it threatened to pull her hand away from Gippal, but he clung to her stubbornly. 

"I'll cast the Drain spell on you!" Paine went on, charging up the spell. "Yuna will reflect it toward Rikku. Get ready!" Gippal raised one hand to shield his eye as the light surrounding them grew brighter and the wind picked up speed. Suddenly Paine darted forward with her dagger and slashed it across Gippal's chest. Gippal cried out, but before his blood could spill, a white light arced across Paine's blade. As Yuna manipulated the Reflect spell, tiny pink dots of light drew forth from Gippal's wound and gravitated toward Rikku.

* * *

"We saw the _Celsius_ being chased by Bevelle's airship, and then we got a call from the Southern camp saying they crashed near them," Hemi said impatiently, raising her voice over the magical storm. "The next thing we knew, we got a distress call from Southern base and hurried over here to help. We saw the base was over-run with soldiers, so we hid until we could come up with a plan. When someone ran off with a hover and distracted the guards, we charged in helped the Gullwings escape." 

"All that happened when I stole the hover?" Anje mused, completely ignoring the scene taking place several yards in front of her.

"Yes, now will you _please_ tell us what's happening to Rikku!" the slight, blonde man shouted impatiently.

"Yo!" a new voice shouted, and the small crowd turned to find that another hover had arrived. Another blonde man jogged toward the scene, followed by the rest of the missing crew from the _Celsius_. Anje recognized this man as the High Summoner's husband.

"We just came back from searching for Gippal and Rikku!" Tidus shouted over the whirlwind. "What is _that_?"

"It looks like an influx of White Magic," Issaru the ex-Summoner said in awe. "I've never seen such a large display! They must be casting simultaneously!"

"Is that being my sister?" shrieked the captain of the _Celsius_ as he pointed to a figure between the two spell casters.

* * *

Dizzy with pain, Gippal could only stare as his blood was absorbed into the white light surrounding Rikku's form. It was so bright and the wind was so loud that Gippal couldn't see or hear anything else. He still clung to Rikku's hand, but it felt like she was a million miles away. 

"Rikku…" Gippal said, though his voice was drowned in the maelstrom. "Find your way back to me…" The Drain spell sapped away the rest of his energy, and he fell unconscious just as the sun rose over the horizon.

* * *

**A/N:**Gee, Gippal sure seems to spend a lot of time unconscious. ;) And I realize that the Reflect spell typically doesn't work like that, especially on physical spells like Drain. Plus that whole magical whirlwind and light show is sort of a stretch, but I wanted the ending to be epic. ;) All that's left is the epilogue that takes place about a year later. I know I'm a horrible person, but don't tell me so or I might not be inspired to write the sequel… 

Actually, that's not totally accurate. I'm planning a darker, non-direct sequel focusing on Paine and Baralai in the world setting continued from _Cid's Little Girl_. I decided to do this because after this story, I don't have anything left for Gippal and Rikku, but I still haven't resolved the issues of Yevon and the war and all that. I plan to dabble in a bit more of that in the tentatively titled _Confessions of a Praetor_. Check my author's profile for updates and reviewer props.

**-P**

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**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own the rights to_ Final Fantasy X-2,_ its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to SquareEnix and company.


	23. Epilogue: A Little Girl

**Disclaimer: **I did not create nor do I own _Final Fantasy X-2_, its characters, plots, locations, etc. It all belongs to Square-Enix and company, and I'm not making any money off of this.

**-P**

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Epilogue

A Little Girl

- - -

Gippal's chin slipped precariously further from where it rested on the heel of his hand as he absently listened to the telesphere conference taking place in his office. Nhadala was still droning on about last week's shipping reports and figures, and it had been at least twenty minutes since anyone had bothered to interrupt her. Gippal suspected this was because everyone else was sleeping.

"Dagnabbit, Nhadala," Cid's voice finally interjected, and Gippal shook his head experimentally to wake himself from his stupor. "Are you going to rattle off those numbers 'til Kingdom come, or are you going to tell me if I'm making any gil or not?"

Gippal grinned at the telesphere from which Cid's gruff voice emerged, and he could practically feel Nhadala's indignation seeping through it.

"Well, Sir," Nhadala's voice pricked up huffily. "I think we can safely assume that as long as Lorenzon's crew in the Eastern Expanse keeps up this pace, we'll be significantly above figures from last year…"

"Good!" Cid's voice concluded. "Gippal, that sound good to you?"

"Yes Sir," Gippal confirmed as he scribbled notes onto some official documents that had become his doodling pad during the voice conference. "The new head of the Eastern Expanse is keeping us plenty stocked with Special Assembly Z's. We should have that new irrigation prototype set up along Mushroom Rock by next week."

"Excellent!" Cid said enthusiastically. "Michael, how is the shoopuff situation down south?"

"Migration patterns have been in keeping with the report I sent you last month," Michael's voice answered proudly from another sphere. "Everything is running smoothly on this end."

"That's what I like to hear!" Gippal could just imagine the Al Bhed leader taking a congratulatory puff of his cigar on the other end of the spherewave. "I'll be checking in with you all within the week. Keep up the good work, people!"

Gippal smiled as he joined the chorus of "Yes, Sir!" before the telespheres disconnected and went silent. Gippal stood up and stretched after sitting for what felt like an eternity in his desk chair. Before he could escape his office with the intention of hunting down some lunch, Cid's telesphere began to glow again, emitting a merry ringing tone, which was a feature Shinra had installed to this latest batch of communication technology. Knowing he couldn't avoid a call from his boss, Gippal regretfully settled back into his chair and tapped the sphere twice to accept the call.

"Gippal my boy! I forgot to ask you to send that inventory count sheet along with the mail pack this week," Cid said good naturedly. "I know you were paying about as much as attention to the conference call as I was, so it just slipped my mind."

"Yeah, along with everything else," Gippal managed to reply as he stifled a yawn. "Why do you let her drone on like that?"

"Ah, it makes her happy," Cid said casually. Gippal had begun to suspect that Cid and Nhadala ought to get together; they'd be the perfect business couple. "Besides, I'd rather have someone in charge of this madhouse, or else it'd all come down around our ears," Cid explained. Gippal only smiled.

"Yep, I'm sure that's all she's good for," Gippal replied nonchalantly, and he thought he could hear the older man clear his throat meaningfully.

"Ah, well, anyway, how are things down there in Djose? Repairs still going strong?"

Gippal sighed. "I'd say most of the Grand Bevelle Legions's cannon fodder has been cleared out, but we're still scraping soot off the walls from the fire. We decided to take advantage of all the new construction and add some residential space for the growing community."

"I bet it's been about a year since the incident, ain't it?" Cid added thoughtfully. Gippal's guts began to squirm as he wondered which of the many "incidents" of the past year Cid was referring to. He quickly sought another train of conversation.

"Well, I'll get those tracking sheets prepared for you and send them along with the mail pack this afternoon," Gippal said, hoping to tie up the conversation.

"Wait a minute, Gippal," Cid's voice had suddenly taken on that fatherly, "I'm the leader and I know what's good for you" tone. "That's not what I meant. How are things down there, you know, with you and everything?" Gippal knew that Cid had always viewed him as almost a second son, and yet the two never really managed to talk effortlessly about events of the past year. There was an awkward pause.

"Oh, you know, same old stuff." Gippal began to doodle again on his improvised drawing paper before a distraction arrived in the form of another quivering telesphere. "Oops, that'll be Yuna," Gippal said hastily, dropping his pen decisively. "Talk to you next week Cid," and he tapped Cid's sphere to close before he could hear an objection. He then quickly tapped Yuna's anxious telesphere to hear her breathlessly launch into her report.

"Gippal, it's me. I'm still in Bevelle but I'll be coming down your road tomorrow. I have good news!"

"Sweet Ixion, Yuna. Don't you have a baby and a half you're supposed to be taking care of?" Gippal could practically feel Yuna's warm beaming smile radiate through the sphere waves as she replied.

"If you're referring to my husband and my adorable baby girl, then you may rest assured that they're coming along with me. No need to chastise me about _my_ family, Gippal!" She said teasingly.

Gippal leaned back in his chair with a smirk. "I only meant that you've been traipsing about the continent for the past eight weeks, practically giving birth in a chocobo saddle while trying to slap together this new 'government…' By the way, if you're not _very_ careful, I'm afraid the murmurings around here are going to come true."

"And what might those 'murmurings' be, my dear, well-established Machinae Supremacy Co. vice president?"

"That _you're_ going to be the new head governess of this new regime you're putting in place. Very crafty of you, to set up a new government and end up at the head of it."

"Oh come on now, Gippal!" Yuna said exasperatedly yet pleased. "Someone had to start making up for the broken law and order that Yevon left behind. Ever since we overthrew the Order, people have been looking for guidance…"

"And as always, they turn to you!" Gippal finished with a smile. "I don't think you'll ever get another moment's rest now that you have to play mommy for the whole world."

"I don't mind helping out where I can," the ex-High Summoner added thoughtfully. "And yes, you predicted my good news. I've been in conferences with Nooj, Baralai, and the rest of the new committee. We're drawing up a constitution next week."

"Funny how things work out like that," Gippal agreed with Yuna's enthusiasm. "And how is our favorite ex-assassin working out?"

"Well, I don't think public service agreed with Anje at first, but as long as she's allowed to travel, I don't think she minds being an 'official' envoy now. She really was a lawyer, you know."

"Oh really," Gippal said flatly, now attempting to balance his pen on his forefinger. "And here I thought she was just a bloodthirsty mercenary. Oh wait, that's the same thing…"

"Gippal!" Yuna cried admonishingly, though not without a giggle. "Really, you could have a little more sympathy. Things turned out mostly right in the end."

Gippal and Yuna were both silent for a moment, perhaps both reminiscing of that confusing time almost a year ago. Somehow this was the second awkward conversation he had gotten into today alluding to the disasters of one year ago.

"So Gippal…" Yuna ventured, but Gippal was already prepared to interrupt her.

"So you'll be down here after signing the new constitution, then?" he asked casually, tapping his pen impatiently. He kept glancing toward his door, willing it to open and present his lunch to him.

"Yeah," Yuna sighed, apparently giving up the argument before it started. "I guess I'll see you all then."

"Lovely. Ciao, babe," and Gippal impatiently tapped the sphere to end the call. Finally alone in his office, Gippal sighed heavily and rested his forehead on his desk. Cid, Yuna, and everyone else kept reminding him of how much wreckage the past year had left behind, and they all wanted him to just let it go. A government overthrown, homes destroyed, friends lost…

Gippal raised his head slightly when he thought he heard motion behind his office door.

_And yet_, he thought as the door behind him began to open, and there was muffled swearing behind the door as a thump sounded like an elbow hitting the door jamb. _Some things turned out okay. Some things turned out…_

Gippal smiled a little as he raised his head and swiveled around in his chair to find his lunch being delivered with a scowling face.

_Some things turned out a little better than okay._

"Would it have killed you open the door? I'm carrying your lunch with both hands, you know!"

Gippal's smile spread to a wide grin as he lifted the tray from his visitor's hands. "You didn't have to bring this, you know. I thought you were taking a nap." He set the tray on his desk and pulled his wife closer. She was still scowling and rubbing her elbow.

"Oh come on, Kku-Ri…" He tried to rub his nose against hers but she poutily looked the other way.

"You have no concern for my delicate condition…" Rikku sniffed.

"I have every concern for _our_ condition, and if she's anything like you, she'll be anything but delicate."

"Gippal!" Rikku huffed while rubbing her very swollen belly. "What makes you think it's a girl?"

"Nothing in particular, but I just hope it's a little girl." Gippal placed his hand on her belly over Rikku's hands. "You know, so people will call her 'Gippal's little girl'…." Rikku began to warm up and smiled at her husband.

"Well she's already got your grumpy attitude! She kicked me so hard I couldn't take a nap!" Rikku scrunched up her nose, fishing for pity. Gippal only smiled at her.

"Ixion knows _you'll_ always be a little girl…"

"Hey! I think pregnancy has qualified me for maturity!"

"Apparently it's got nothing to do with it…"

Rikku punched his arm but grinned happily, and Gippal wrapped his arms around her. "I was just thinking," he murmured against her neck. "Things turned out okay, didn't they?" Rikku sighed.

"Things turned out better than okay, worry-wart. The Order is gone, Yunnie's in charge, and…" Gippal cut her off.

"And you're okay," he finished. He pulled back to look at his wife seriously. "I love you, Rikku. I will never let anything hurt you again." Rikku just rolled her eyes.

"If only I could get you be so mushy in front of Paine. She'd roll on the floor laughing."

"That's just what I need," Gippal groaned. "Paine to show up and keep lecturing me about fatherhood…" Rikku stood on her tip-toes and gave him a little kiss. "You're going to be great," she said.

"Well, that's a relief." Gippal's stomach suddenly rumbled. "I'm starved, woman. What'd you bring me to eat?"

"Geez Gippal, all you ever think about is your stomach!"

"Funny story coming from you, Miss 'I Want Pineapples At Three In The Morning.'"

"You're so self-centered!"

"And you're such a baby!"

"Good to know some things never change, I guess…" Rikku sighed contentedly as she took a bite out of Gippal's sandwich, and they happily bickered as they ate their lunch.

- - -

A/N: Wooooooooooo……. Finally finished this thing. This was the first draft that I just finished, after so many years. I could add things if you want. Hope you liked it. Please review!


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